Colorado Springs City Code section 9.8.201 declares noise from vehicles under 10,000 lbs in excess of 80 dB(A), and from vehicles over 10,000 lbs in excess of 88 dB(A), excessive and unlawful, and prohibits air compression (jake) brakes within city limits unless posted. Sections 9.8.203 and 10.22.204 ban exhaust modifications that amplify noise above factory levels.
Vehicle noise is addressed in the motor-vehicle article of the noise chapter. Section 9.8.201 (Vehicle Noise Limits) declares that noise from any vehicle weighing less than 10,000 pounds in excess of 80 dB(A) on the A-weighting scale is excessive, unusually loud, and unlawful; for vehicles over 10,000 pounds the limit is 88 dB(A). Subsection D prohibits the use of air compression brakes ('jake brakes') within city limits unless otherwise posted by the City Traffic Engineer. Section 9.8.203 (Modifications Prohibited) makes it unlawful to install or operate any device that amplifies or increases noise above the vehicle's original factory design (with an exception for racing/pleasure use outside the city or in authorized areas). Section 10.22.204 (Exhaust Systems) independently requires every motor vehicle to have an adequate, properly maintained exhaust system in constant operation and makes it unlawful to operate a vehicle whose exhaust has been modified to amplify or increase noise above the originally installed system, or that uses a muffler cutoff, bypass, or similar device. These provisions operate alongside the general decibel limits and the plain-audible standard in sections 9.8.101 and 9.8.104.
Vehicle noise above the 80 dB(A) / 88 dB(A) caps, jake-brake use where not posted, or operating a vehicle with an amplifying exhaust modification or muffler bypass is unlawful under sections 9.8.201, 9.8.203, and 10.22.204 and is prosecutable in Municipal Court under the Title 9 general penalty provisions.
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