Camden County, NJ Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

The Camden County Noise Control Ordinance for Stationary Source applies, under § 1.2, to sound originating from stationary sources within the limits of Camden County. Its one vehicle-specific prohibition is § 6.2.5, Standing Motor Vehicles. Section 2.8 defines a motor vehicle as any vehicle propelled or drawn on land by an engine or motor, and the rule bites once the manufacturer's gross weight is in excess of 10,000 pounds. It also reaches any auxiliary equipment attached to such a vehicle.

The limit is five (5) minutes in any hour while the vehicle is stationary. The rule applies on a public right-of-way or public space, which §§ 2.16 and 2.17 define as streets, sidewalks and alleys, and real property or structures owned, leased or controlled by a governmental entity. The vehicle must be within 150 feet (46 meters) of a residential area, and the window runs from 8:00pm to 8:00am of the following day. Idling for reasons of traffic congestion or emergency work is carved out of § 6.2.5 itself. Section 7.1 separately removes emergency alerting sound and emergency work from the whole ordinance, and § 2.6 defines emergency work as work needed to deliver essential services.

Other vehicle sound is handled narrowly. Section 5.2(f) exempts from the Table I sound level limits an exterior burglar alarm on any building or motor vehicle, provided the alarm terminates its operation within fifteen (15) minutes after activation. Section 2.9 defines a muffler as a sound dissipative device for abating the sound of escaping gases of an internal combustion engine, and § 5.2 ties its exemptions for power tools, construction equipment and snow removal to operation with a muffler, but those clauses cover tools and work equipment, not road vehicles. Section 6.2.1 bars operating a radio, television, phonograph or similar device in a way that creates a noise disturbance for any person other than the operator, and § 2.14 defines a noise disturbance as sound that endangers safety or health, disturbs a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, or endangers property. Engine brakes are not mentioned anywhere in the printed ordinance.

Noise control officers enforce the ordinance under § 3.1. Section 2.13 defines that officer as a trained employee of the municipality, a group of municipalities, or the county who is empowered to issue a summons.