Oregon, OH Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

13 of the Oregon Codified Ordinances, Motor Vehicles, sets noise limits by vehicle category at subsection (a), measured at a distance of not less than fifty feet from the center line of travel. Trucks and buses with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more cannot exceed 86 dBA at 35 mph or less, or 90 dBA above 35 mph. Passenger cars, light trucks and buses under 10,000 pounds are capped at 76 dBA at 35 mph or less and 82 dBA above that speed.

Motorcycles are limited to 82 dBA at 35 mph or less and 86 dBA above it. Snowmobiles, minibikes, go-carts and other off-highway vehicles cannot exceed 82 dBA measured at the same fifty-foot distance regardless of speed. Beyond the numeric table, subsection (b) separately bans specific driver conduct: making excessive noise with the vehicle or an attached device to annoy the public, unnecessarily racing the motor while idling, or opening the muffler are all prohibited on the street. Sounding a horn or signal device for an unnecessary and excessive period, except as a genuine danger signal, is likewise barred, as is operating a vehicle by rapid acceleration, turning, backing, or starting and stopping in a way that causes unreasonable or excessive tire noise.

These vehicle-noise standards sit inside the same Chapter 531 noise code that regulates fixed sources, construction and homeowner equipment, so a modified exhaust or aftermarket muffler that pushes a car above its category's dBA limit is independently actionable under both the numeric table and the open-muffler prohibition in subsection (b)(1). 99, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense, enforced on patrol by the Oregon Division of Police.