Omaha, NE Noise from Specific Sources: Delivery Truck Noise (2026)

Section 17-25 of the Omaha Municipal Code makes it unlawful to operate any motor vehicle or combination of vehicles so that the total noise discharged passes the limit for its category. The limit applies under any condition of grade, load, acceleration or deceleration, and it applies regardless of the vehicle's actual speed within the posted speed limit zone. A delivery truck is therefore measured against the same number whether it is idling away from a dock, climbing a grade or braking for a stop.

The table has three categories. Row (1) covers any motor vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more: 86 dB(A) where the speed limit is 35 mph or less, and 90 dB(A) where it is over 35 mph. Row (2) covers motorcycles at 82 and 86 dB(A). Row (3) covers any other motor vehicle, which includes a lighter delivery van or box truck rated under 10,000 pounds, at 76 and 82 dB(A). Article II defines a motor vehicle to include any passenger vehicle, truck, truck-trailer, trailer or semitrailer propelled or drawn by mechanical power, so tractor-trailer combinations are covered as a unit.

The limits are written for a microphone placed 50 feet from the curbline of the street the vehicle is traveling on, but the ordinance says measurements do not have to be taken at that distance. At any other distance a correction factor is applied to the limit: +6 at 25 feet, +5 at 28, +4 at 32, +3 at 35, +2 at 40, +1 at 45, 0 at 50, -1 at 56, -2 at 63, -3 at 70, -4 at 80, -5 at 90 and -6 at 100 feet. Sections 17-26 through 17-29 set the method: a type 2 or better sound level meter meeting ANSI standards, a calibration check at the time of every measurement, a microphone windscreen, readings on the fast response scale, and background traffic and aircraft noise excluded unless it interferes with the reading.

The limit applies to the total noise from the vehicle, and section 17-25 states that it does not limit enforcement of any other provision of the Code, including the muffler rules. Section 17-33 separately bars operating a vehicle without a muffler or sound-dissipative device in good working order and in constant operation, and section 17-34 prohibits audible engine compression brakes on the interstate system and on any street with four or more traffic lanes where the grade is under five degrees. Section 17-24 assigns enforcement to the police department, and section 17-23 limits the article to the corporate limits of the city. Section 17-31 exempts authorized emergency vehicles responding to an emergency call.