Tangipahoa Parish, LA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Tangipahoa Parish Code § 32-153(1)b names vehicle noise as one of the specific acts the sound control article treats as loud and raucous noise. The text bars the use of any automobile, motorcycle, bus, streetcar, bus, or vehicle so out of repair or so equipped, which emits or creates loud grating, grinding, or rattling noise. A separate clause, Code § 32-153(1)c, covers stationary engine and motorboat exhaust, requiring a muffler or comparable device that effectively prevents loud noise; together the two clauses reach both a vehicle whose mechanical condition itself is noisy and an unmuffled exhaust.

Neither clause sets a decibel figure; both are violation-by-condition standards tied to whether the vehicle is out of repair or improperly equipped. The rules sit inside Article VI, recodified by Ord. No. 23-21 on April 24, 2023, and apply only in the unincorporated parish; Hammond, Ponchatoula and the parish's other towns enforce their own vehicle noise rules within their limits. A citation is prosecuted as a misdemeanor under the Code § 1-13 general penalty, and the Sheriff's Office, which patrols the unincorporated parish, is the agency that typically initiates traffic and equipment stops for a vehicle creating this kind of noise.