Grand Forks, ND Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

§ 8-0617(1) makes it unlawful to drive a motor vehicle on a Grand Forks highway unless it is equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation, one that prevents excessive or unusual noise and annoying smoke; § 8-0617(2) separately bans any "muffler cutout" on a vehicle using a city roadway. A related provision, § 8-0306, targets a specific noise source: it is unlawful to intentionally activate, use or operate an unmuffled compression brake or engine brake on any highway, street, parking lot or alley within the city, with the sole exception of using it to make an emergency stop of the vehicle. § 8-0101(8) defines that device broadly enough to cover the trade names drivers use for it, listing "Jacob's brakes," "Jake brakes," "dynamic brakes," "C-brake" and "Paccar brakes." The city's general noise-emission rule in § 8-0618 further bars a motor from emitting an unduly great amount of steam, smoke or products of combustion, which the Grand Forks Police Department can pair with a muffler citation when a vehicle's exhaust is both loud and visibly smoking.

Together the sections cover the two classic complaints residents bring to the police department: an aftermarket exhaust or removed muffler, and a truck's compression brake echoing through a residential street.