Madison County, IL Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered conduct
- Excessively loud engine/exhaust crossing property line
- Named triggers
- Defective exhaust, revving, tire squealing
- Car stereo limit
- Audible at 20 feet is unlawful, § 53.05(A)
- First offense fine
- $50 to $250
- Subsequent offense fine
- $150 to $1,000
- Applies to
- Unincorporated county only
Summary
Madison County makes it unlawful to operate a motor vehicle or internal combustion engine that is excessively loud enough to disturb people across a residential property line, including noise from a defective or modified exhaust, rapid acceleration or deceleration, engine revving, or tire squealing.
For any person to operate a motor vehicle or any internal combustion engine, which is excessively loud, so as to disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of persons across a residential real property boundary. This includes excessive noise levels as the result of a defective or modified exhaust system or as a result of any one or more of the following: unnecessary rapid acceleration, deceleration, engine revving or tire squealing.
Full Breakdown
05(H) of the Madison County Noise Pollution Act declares it a nuisance and unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle or any internal combustion engine that is excessively loud, so as to disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of persons across a residential real property boundary. The section specifically covers excessive noise from a defective or modified exhaust system, and from unnecessary rapid acceleration, deceleration, engine revving or tire squealing. 05(A), separately bars a motor vehicle operator from playing a radio, musical instrument or similar device from the vehicle loud enough to be plainly audible to another person at a distance of 20 feet.
03 as sound that causes annoyance, has adverse psychological or physiological effects, endangers health or safety, or disturbs a person of normal sensitivities, and RESIDENTIAL AREA means an area zoned residential under the county's own zoning ordinance. 07 makes the chapter's rules take precedence over conflicting neighborhood covenants. As with the rest of Chapter 53, this vehicle-noise standard applies only in unincorporated Madison County; drivers inside Alton, Edwardsville, Granite City, Collinsville and the county's other incorporated municipalities are subject to those cities' own vehicle noise ordinances instead.
Violations & Fines
A Section 53.05(H) violation is a misdemeanor under the Chapter 53 penalty clause, Section 53.99. The minimum fine for a first offense is $50 and the maximum is $250; a subsequent offense carries a minimum fine of $150 and a maximum of $1,000, plus court costs. The court may order community service in addition to a fine, and each day a violation continues is treated as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a loud modified exhaust illegal in unincorporated Madison County?
How loud can my car stereo be outside my vehicle?
What is the fine for a vehicle noise violation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Madison County
Compare Madison County to another location·View the Illinois noise ordinances overview
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