Milton, WI Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Milton Code of Ordinances Section 70-4, adopted by Ordinance No. 287 on March 3, 2009, folds vehicle noise into the city's general loud-and-unnecessary-noise prohibition. Subsection (b)(2) targets car audio directly: operating a radio or other electric sound amplification device in a motor vehicle so that it emits sound clearly audible under normal conditions at 50 feet or more is a violation, unless the device is being used to request assistance or warn of an unsafe condition. The section carves out six exceptions: authorized emergency vehicles, public utility vehicles, advertising vehicles, vehicles used in a community event, activated theft alarms, and vehicles operating outside a business or residential district.

Subsection (b)(6) separately reaches engine and exhaust noise, making it unlawful to discharge the exhaust of any steam engine, internal combustion engine or motor boat into the open air except through a muffler or other device that will effectively prevent loud or explosive noise. Subsection (b)(1) adds a horn rule: sounding any horn or signaling device for longer than three seconds in any one-minute period, other than as a danger warning, is also a violation. The chapter's general penalty at Section 70-5(a) makes any violation of chapter 70 a forfeiture plus the costs of prosecution.

State law layers on top: the footnote to Section 70-4 cites Wis. Stats. 135 on sound amplifying devices, and Wis. ch. 346 traffic rules apply citywide under Section 70-1.