Bradenton, FL Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

The City of Bradenton Sound Control Ordinance, Article V of Chapter 38, lists specific acts that count as unreasonable sound. Two of them target vehicles.

First, § 38-154(a)(2)k prohibits rapid throttle advance (revving) of an internal combustion engine on the public right-of-way that increases engine sound for the purpose of drawing attention to the source of the sound. The rule turns on purpose and location: it reaches revving in the street, not engine noise from normal driving.

Second, § 38-154(a)(2)l covers amplified sound or vibration produced by a radio, tape player, CD player or other mechanical sound making device from within or emanating from a motor vehicle. The test is distance: the sound is unlawful if it is plainly audible from 50 feet from the source vehicle, or if the vibration can be felt from the source vehicle. The ordinance spells out how an officer proves that. The primary means of detection is the officer's ordinary auditory senses, and the officer's hearing cannot be enhanced by any mechanical device. The officer needs a direct line of sight and hearing to the vehicle so the offending vehicle and the distance are readily identifiable. The officer does not have to make out the words of the lyrics or the name of any song or artist.

The definition of amplification system in § 38-153 excludes vehicle radios, CD and tape players when used and heard only by the occupants of the vehicle, which is why the 50-foot audibility test matters. Section 38-157 also exempts the usual noises of traffic and motor vehicles operating on the public right-of-way, and motor vehicles and vessels functioning with all manufacturer's mufflers and noise-reducing equipment in use and in proper operating condition.

Enforcement runs through § 38-158. The Bradenton Police Department and the code enforcement division of the planning and community development department enforce under F.S. ch. 162. Ordinarily an officer gives a written notice and a reasonable time to correct, which is 15 minutes absent special circumstances, but § 38-158(c) deems vehicle sound violations per se itinerant or transient in nature because vehicles are mobile. An officer can therefore cite immediately without offering time to comply.