Mebane, NC Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Mebane City Code § 14-125(4) lists 'use of vehicles' among the acts the city declares loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise: any automobile, motorcycle, dirt bike, go-cart or recreational vehicle so out of repair, so loaded, or operated so as to create loud or unnecessary grating, grinding, rattling or screeching, and any such vehicle out of repair because of an inadequate or defective muffler that disturbs the comfort and repose of a person of normal sensibilities nearby, violates the ordinance. Section 14-123 tells officers what to weigh before writing a citation: the time of day, how close the noise is to residential structures, its volume and intensity, whether it has been boosted by electronic or mechanical means, the character and zoning of the area, whether it is tied to normal business or labor activity, and whether the noise-maker could control it without unreasonable effort or expense.

Section 14-122 defines 'unreasonably loud' as noise substantially incompatible with the time and place it is made, to the point it interferes with peace or good order. The city council adopted this article under G.S. 160A-184, the state's grant of municipal authority to regulate, restrict or prohibit noise, and it sits alongside companion bans on blaring horns, amplified stereos and unpermitted loudspeakers in the same chapter. Enforcement under § 14-124 gives the city two tracks: a misdemeanor warrant under the general penalty section, § 1-6, or a civil citation.

Nothing in the chapter exempts modified exhausts, off-road vehicles or trucks; any vehicle whose noise meets the § 14-123 factors is covered regardless of type.