Catawba County, NC Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Sec. 16-69 lists four separate vehicle-noise violations. Subsection (1) bars blowing a vehicle horn except as a warning device, so a horn used to greet, express frustration, or otherwise signal for reasons unrelated to warning another driver or pedestrian violates the ordinance. Subsection (2) makes it unlawful to operate a motor vehicle or engine without a muffler, or with a muffler so defective or so designed that the vehicle emits an unusually loud noise, reaching both missing and modified exhaust systems. Subsection (3) targets unusual noise created by screeching tires or racing engines, covering aggressive acceleration and braking rather than mechanical defects.

Subsection (4) is the catch-all for a vehicle that is so loaded, so out of repair, or operated in such a manner that it creates loud grating, grinding, rattling, backfiring or similar noises, reaching poorly maintained trucks and trailers as well as reckless driving. All four sit under the general noise standard in Sec. S. 153A-133 (Sec. 16-66). Sec. 16-70 exempts warning devices, safety signals, emergency vehicles, and aircraft operated under federal rules from the article, so a genuine emergency horn or siren is not swept in by subsection (1).