Dallas Chapter 30 noise rules and Texas Transportation Code Section 547.604 require commercial trucks to use functioning mufflers and prohibit excessive noise. Loading-dock activity near residences faces 65 dBA night limits between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Two regimes govern delivery-truck noise. Texas Transportation Code Section 547.604 requires every motor vehicle to have a muffler in good working order to prevent excessive or unusual noise; modified or removed mufflers, including stacks and Jake-brake engine retarders used in residential areas, violate state law. Dallas Chapter 30 adds property-line decibel limits: 65 dBA nighttime (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.) and 75 dBA daytime at residential receivers. Dock activity, refrigeration units, beepers, and idling fall under these limits. Dallas zoning Chapter 51A also restricts loading-dock orientation when commercial sites abut residential. Dallas Police enforce muffler violations; Code Compliance handles dock noise.
TX Transportation Code 547.604 muffler violation: Class C misdemeanor, fine up to $200. Dallas Chapter 30 dock-noise citation: up to $500 per day. Idling beyond five minutes near residential may add separate environmental citation under TCEQ rules.
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