Canton, OH Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Engine/exhaust brake ban
- Citywide, § 331.36(b)-(c)
- Named devices banned
- Jake, Pac, Tek and C Brakes
- Muffler requirement
- Working muffler at all times, § 337.20
- Muffler cutout/bypass
- Prohibited on a highway
- 331.36 first offense
- Minor misdemeanor, escalates
- 337.20 penalty
- Minor misdemeanor
Summary
In the City of Canton, Ohio, drivers may not race a motor, peel tires, or use engine brakes or engine retarders such as Jake Brakes anywhere in the city. Every vehicle must run a working muffler, and muffler cutouts or bypasses that boost noise are banned outright.
Exhaust and Tire Noise. No person shall unnecessarily race the motor of any vehicle and no person shall operate any motor vehicle, except in an emergency, in such a manner that the vehicle is so rapidly accelerated or started from a stopped position that the exhaust system emits a loud, cracking or chattering noise unusual to its normal operation, or whereby the tires of such vehicle squeal or leave tire marks on the roadway commonly called "peeling". ... Engine Brakes. No person shall use an Engine Brake, which is any device used on vehicles that changes the timing of the exhaust valves to slow the vehicle, within the City. ... Engine Retarders. No person shall use Engine Retarders including, but not limited to, such devices sold under the trade names of "C Brakes," "Pac Brakes," "Tek Brakes," "Jake Brakes," or any other type of Engine Retarder commonly utilized in the trucking industry, within the City.
Full Breakdown
Canton Codified Ordinances § 331.36, Noisy Vehicles, bars unnecessarily racing a motor and bars accelerating or starting a vehicle, except in an emergency, so rapidly that the exhaust emits a loud, cracking or chattering noise unusual to normal operation, or so that the tires squeal or leave tire marks commonly called peeling. Subsection (b) prohibits using any Engine Brake, defined as a device that changes exhaust valve timing to slow the vehicle, anywhere within the city. Subsection (c) separately bans Engine Retarders, naming trade names such as C Brakes, Pac Brakes, Tek Brakes and Jake Brakes, or any other engine retarder commonly used in trucking, again citywide with no exception for highways or industrial corridors.
Those two subsections were added by Ordinance 207-2000, passed September 25, 2000. Section 337.20, Muffler; Muffler Cutout; Excessive Smoke, Gas or Noise, separately requires every motor vehicle and motorcycle with an internal combustion engine to be equipped at all times with a working muffler in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, bars any muffler cutout, by-pass or similar device on a highway, and requires motorcycle mufflers to have baffle plates. Subsection (b) of 337.20 also bars owning, operating or possessing a vehicle equipped to produce excessive smoke or gas, or rigged so oil or chemicals flow into the exhaust to create dangerous or annoying gases beyond ordinary combustion exhaust; that section was last amended by Ordinance 26-2010, passed February 22, 2010.
Violations & Fines
Whoever violates the noisy-vehicle rule in Section 331.36, covering exhaust racing, tire peeling, engine brakes or engine retarders, is guilty of a minor misdemeanor on a first offense; a second offense within a year is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and a third or later offense within that year is a third-degree misdemeanor. A muffler or muffler-cutout violation under Section 337.20 is a minor misdemeanor. Both sections are enforced by the Canton Police Department as traffic offenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Jake Brakes illegal in the City of Canton, Ohio?
Can I rev my engine or peel tires in Canton?
Does Canton require a working muffler?
What is the penalty for an engine brake or noisy vehicle violation in Canton?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Canton
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