Kenner, LA Noise from Specific Sources: Low-Frequency Bass Limits (2026)

Kenner addresses booming vehicle bass through a dedicated section, § 7-167, separate from the general noise ordinance. It provides that no operator or passenger of a motor vehicle shall operate, or permit the operation of, any sound amplification system which can be heard outside of the vehicle from twelve feet or more when the vehicle is being operated upon a street or highway. The code defines 'sound amplification system' broadly to include any radio, tape player, compact disc player, loudspeaker or other electrical device used for amplification of the human voice, music, or any other noise or sound, so an aftermarket subwoofer or bass amplifier counts the same as a factory stereo.

The twelve-foot audibility line gives officers a simple field test: if a car's bass can be heard from the sidewalk or an adjacent lane at that distance while the vehicle is moving on a street or highway, the driver is in violation regardless of the actual decibel reading. The section carries built-in exceptions for emergency and public-safety vehicles, city or utility-company vehicles, systems used to request medical or vehicular assistance or warn of a hazardous road condition, and vehicles in a permitted parade. The Kenner Police Department enforces § 7-167 on patrol and by complaint.

Because the section does not set its own penalty, a violation is punished under the general Chapter 7 schedule in § 7-3: a fine of up to $500, imprisonment of up to sixty days, or both, with each day of a continuing violation a separate offense. The section was adopted with Ord. No. 7297 in 1995 and amended by Ord. No. 7978 in 1998.