Carmel City Code Sec. 6-158 reaches motor-vehicle sound but exempts vehicles 'lawfully operating on City streets,' meaning equipment defects are governed by Indiana Code 9-19-8. Indiana law requires a working muffler at all times and bans muffler cutouts and bypasses.
Carmel's noise ordinance applies to 'any machine, motor vehicle, device, or thing that produces or reproduces sound' (Sec. 6-158(a)), so a stationary or idling vehicle blasting sound can violate the local decibel/audibility limits. However, Sec. 6-158(b)(11) exempts 'those sounds associated with motor vehicles lawfully operating on City streets,' subject to the other provisions of the section and any other applicable law. The practical effect is that defective exhaust and modified vehicles on the road are handled under state law. Indiana Code 9-19-8-3 requires every motor vehicle to be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and Indiana Code 9-19-8-4 prohibits muffler cutouts, bypasses, or similar devices. A violation of the muffler chapter is a Class C infraction under state law. So a loud-exhaust or 'straight pipe' complaint in Carmel is generally enforced through Indiana motor-vehicle equipment law, while amplified sound from a parked or idling car can fall under the local ordinance.
Local stationary-vehicle noise is an infraction under Sec. 6-158(d) ($250 to $2,500 by offense). On-road exhaust and muffler defects are enforced under Indiana Code 9-19-8 as a Class C infraction. Carmel Metropolitan Police handle both; report to non-emergency dispatch at 317-571-2580.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Carmel City Code § 6-88 (Removal of Weeds, Debris, and Other Such Rank Vegetation) requires owners to remove weeds and rank vegetation over six inches averag...
See how Carmel's vehicle noise rules stack up against other locations.
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