Henry County, GA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Sec. 3-17-45(a) bars operating a motor vehicle or motorcycle at any time on a public or private road in a manner that exceeds the sound level limits for the category of motor vehicle shown in Table 2, measured at a distance of at least fifty feet from the centerline of the path of the vehicle and at a height of at least four feet above the immediately surrounding surface. Table 2 sets three categories: vehicles rated 6,000 pounds or more are capped at 86 dBA at 35 mph or less and 90 dBA above 35 mph; motorcycles are capped at 82 dBA and 86 dBA respectively; all other motor vehicles are capped at 72 dBA, with no separate above-35-mph figure listed.

Subsection (b) separately requires every motor vehicle or motorcycle on a public or private road to run a muffler or sound-dissipative device in proper working order and in constant operation, and bars removing or rendering inoperative such a device except for maintenance, repair or replacement. Subsection (b)(3) clarifies that a stationary vehicle, rather than a moving one, is instead measured against the property-boundary Table 1 limits in Sec. 3-17-42, not the moving-vehicle Table 2 limits, so an idling or parked vehicle with a loud stereo or revving engine falls under the general noise article instead.