Bay County, MI Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Under the county's Noise Control Ordinance, sounding a horn or signaling device on an automobile, motorcycle, or other vehicle on a county street or public place is unlawful except as a danger warning; using the device to create an unreasonably loud or harsh sound, or sounding it for an unreasonable, unnecessary period, is separately prohibited (Bay County Code of Ordinances § 62.003(a)). The ordinance also bars any signaling device that isn't hand- or electricity-operated, any horn or whistle operated by engine exhaust, and sounding a horn simply because traffic is held up.

Separately, exhaust from any steam engine, stationary internal combustion engine, motor boat, or motor vehicle must discharge through a muffler or other device that effectively prevents loud or explosive noise (§ 62.003(g)). Both provisions sit within the same list of acts the county declares to be loud, disturbing, unnecessary noise, alongside excessive noise from vehicle loading and unloading (§ 62.003(h)) and from blowers or engine-driven fans that aren't properly muffled (§ 62.003(o)). The county's general noise findings, adopted in 1981, treat vehicle noise as a detriment to public health, comfort, and safety that the Board intended these specific provisions to control (§ 62.001).