Clark County, IN Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

04(A) bars operating, or permitting to be operated, any motor vehicle, lawnmower, machinery or equipment that contains a modified or defective exhaust system if the resulting sound is clearly audible to another person 50 feet or more away, whether on public property such as a road, highway, alley or parking lot, or on private property measured from the property line. This is the same distance-based audibility test the county applies to stereos and machinery generally, applied here specifically to exhaust noise. Subsection (B)(11) gives vehicle owners a narrow grace period: where the noise is the result of a defective or modified exhaust system, the violation is exempted if the cause is repaired or otherwise remedied within seven calendar days.

That seven-day window only excuses the exhaust condition itself; it does not excuse other simultaneous noise violations from the same vehicle, such as an amplified stereo. 04(C) gives the Sheriff and Board of Commissioners joint authority to develop further rules for administering the noise chapter, including how the seven-day repair window is verified. 99(C)(4) for a minor driver's compliance and for any resulting fine.