Broken Arrow, OK Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Broken Arrow does not set a decibel reading for vehicles in this section. Sec. 16-12 instead lists specific acts that count as unlawful disturbances of the peace, and some of the listed acts concern vehicles and engines.

The first is item (a)(1): the sounding of a horn or a similar signal device on any vehicle, except as a danger signal. The rule is written as a ban with a single exception. Honking to warn of danger is allowed. Honking for any other reason, such as greeting a neighbor or hurrying another driver, falls outside the exception. The words "any vehicle" mean the rule is not limited to passenger cars, and "similar signal device" reaches signaling equipment other than a standard horn.

The second is item (a)(4): discharging the exhaust of any internal combustion engine or motor vehicle, except through a muffler or other device which will effectively prevent loud or explosive noises. The rule covers any internal combustion engine, not only the engine in a motor vehicle. The test is also whether the device works: a muffler or other device must effectively prevent loud or explosive noises, so equipment that is installed but does not quiet the exhaust does not satisfy the wording.

These vehicle items sit in the same Broken Arrow list as item (2), playing a television, radio, or musical instrument at a volume that annoys or disturbs a person within another dwelling, and item (3), allowing an animal to habitually bark, howl, or yelp. Horn and exhaust violations are enforced the same as any other prohibited noise under Sec. 16-12. The horn and exhaust items, as quoted, contain no time-of-day limit, so they apply whenever the act occurs in Broken Arrow.