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Amarillo, TX Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Section
Municipal Code § 16-3-116(e)
Prohibited
Acceleration noise, smoking tires, tire liftoff
Applies to
Any city street or alley
Enforcement
Amarillo Police Department
Penalty
Fine per Section 1-1-5

Summary

Amarillo makes it a traffic offense to operate a vehicle on any city street or alley with sudden acceleration that produces noise, smoking tires, or that causes one or more tires to lose contact with the pavement. The rule targets burnouts, jackrabbit starts, and revving displays.

It is an offense for a person to operate a motor vehicle upon a city street or alley exhibiting sudden vehicle speed or acceleration which produces noise, smoking tires, or causes one (1) or more tires to lose contact with the surface of the street or alley.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 81).

Full Breakdown

Amarillo Municipal Code Section 16-3-116(e) makes it an offense to operate a motor vehicle on a city street or alley 'exhibiting sudden vehicle speed or acceleration which produces noise, smoking tires, or causes one (1) or more tires to lose contact with the surface.' The provision sits in the Traffic chapter's speed division and targets burnouts, peel-outs, and revving exhibitions. The Amarillo Police Department enforces it; under Section 16-3-104 each violation is an offense punishable by fine per general-penalty Section 1-1-5. Officers need no decibel meter: the noise, tire smoke, or lost traction is itself the offense.

Violations & Fines

Enforced by the Amarillo Police Department as a Class C misdemeanor traffic citation. Each burnout, tire-squeal, or noisy acceleration is a separate offense punishable by fine under Municipal Code Section 1-1-5.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a decibel limit for car stereos in Amarillo?
Amarillo's codified vehicle-noise offense, Section 16-3-116(e), is behavior-based: it targets loud acceleration, tire smoke, and burnouts, not a measured decibel level or audible-at-a-set-distance stereo threshold.
What does Amarillo's vehicle-noise rule actually ban?
Operating a vehicle on a street or alley with sudden acceleration that produces noise, smoking tires, or lifts one or more tires off the pavement: burnouts, peel-outs, and revving displays.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Amarillo

Quiet HoursFew RestrictionsConstruction HoursFew RestrictionsParking Rules: RV & Boat ParkingSome RestrictionsDecibel LimitsFew RestrictionsAircraft NoiseSome RestrictionsBarking DogsSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Loading ZonesSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Commercial & Oversized VehiclesSignificant RestrictionsParking Rules: Dibs & Space SavingSome RestrictionsParking Rules: Curb Color RulesSome RestrictionsFence Regulations: Retaining WallsSome Restrictions

All Amarillo rules

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