Essex County has no countywide vehicle-noise ordinance. Vehicle noise is governed by New Jersey Title 39 motor-vehicle law, which requires every vehicle to have a working muffler and bans cut-outs and bypasses. Modified-exhaust and loud-stereo enforcement is handled by state and municipal police.
Vehicle noise in Essex County falls under statewide Title 39 (Motor Vehicles and Traffic Regulation), not a county ordinance. N.J.S.A. 39:3-70 requires every combustion-engine vehicle to have a muffler in good working order and constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise, and prohibits muffler cut-outs or bypasses. Separately, the NJDEP model ordinance towns adopt bars vehicular music amplification that is plainly audible 25 feet away overnight or 50 feet away during the day. Enforcement is by state and municipal police and, for the noise standard, certified Noise Control Officers. There is no Essex County-issued vehicle-noise citation outside its parks.
Muffler and exhaust-modification violations are motor-vehicle offenses under Title 39, enforced by police; illegal muffler modification carries penalties up to $500 or 30 days. Loud vehicle stereos can be cited municipally under the adopted noise ordinance.
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