Port Townsend, WA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

The stereo rule. PTMC 9.09.030(D) covers "any sound system from a moving motor vehicle," and gives radios, compact disc players and tape players as examples. If the system is operated at a volume that is audible at distances greater than 50 feet from the location of the vehicle, Port Townsend classifies the sound as a "public disturbance noise." The test is audibility at a distance. The subsection sets no decibel reading and names no hours.

Who is covered. The subsection reaches "playing, using, operating or permitting to be played or used or operated." A driver who lets a passenger run the stereo is within that wording, the same as the person at the controls.

Moving versus stopped. The 50-foot requirement is written for a moving vehicle. The subsection says it "does not apply to a motor vehicle that is standing or stopped." A parked car in Port Townsend is therefore not measured by the 50-foot test. Noise from a parked vehicle is handled through a prior citizen complaint and a warning.

No warning needed for moving vehicles. Officers can cite a moving vehicle on the spot. No prior complaint and no earlier warning are required before a citation under PTMC 9.09.030(D).

Compression brakes. PTMC 10.30.010 bans compression brakes, often called jake brakes or engine brakes, throughout Port Townsend unless they are muffled. Public works posts signage for the ban. This is a traffic infraction and is penalized separately from the noise rule.

How the penalties escalate. The noise fines rise with each offense inside a year, from $66 to $114 to $209, before the matter becomes a misdemeanor. The compression brake penalty does not escalate. It is a flat $250.