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

Granville County's Unnecessary Noise ordinance addresses vehicle noise through three separate clauses rather than one blanket rule. Code § 26-31(b)(1), adopted by Ord. of 10-4-1993, bars the sounding of any horn or signal device on any automobile, motorcycle, bus or other vehicle while not in motion, except as a danger signal, along with sounding a horn that is unreasonably loud or harsh or held for an unnecessary and unreasonable period of time, even while the vehicle is moving. Subsection (b)(5) separately targets mechanical condition, declaring it a violation to use any automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle so out of repair, so loaded or in such manner as to create loud or unnecessary grating, grinding, rattling or other noise, covering a car with a failing exhaust hanger, loose body panels or an overloaded trailer that rattles down the road.

Subsection (b)(7) requires a vehicle's exhaust to discharge through a muffler or other device which will effectively prevent loud or explosive noises, the same clause that also reaches stationary engines and generators elsewhere in the code. None of the three subsections lists a decibel figure or a specific fine; the county falls back on the general civil-penalty procedure at Code § 1-6, issuing a warning citation first and a civil penalty citation if the noisy vehicle keeps operating that way, with 15 days to correct or pay before the county can sue for the penalty as a debt.

Willfully refusing to pay a civil penalty already imposed is a separate misdemeanor under § 1-6(c) and G.S. 14-4, carrying up to a $500.00 fine or 30 days in jail, with each day of continued operation a separate offense.