Roanoke, VA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Section 21-57(1)b of the Roanoke City Code targets sound sources located within a motor vehicle in or upon public right-of-way or public property, and makes it a noise disturbance whenever that sound can be heard more than 50 feet from the vehicle, with no time-of-day limitation, so a loud car stereo can violate the ordinance at noon just as easily as at midnight. This is distinct from the residential-boundary test that applies to stationary radios and TVs under subsection (1)a; the vehicle rule instead measures a flat 50-foot radius from the car itself, wherever it is parked or driving on a public street.

Section 21-57(3) separately addresses horns and similar devices, making it unlawful to sound or permit the sounding of any horn, whistle or other auditory sounding device on or in a motor vehicle on a public right-of-way or public property, except when the horn is used as a warning of danger. Both provisions sit within Article VII, Noise Control, and both violations carry the Class 2 misdemeanor and public-nuisance classification set out in the article's opening sections, § 21-56 and the lead-in to § 21-57. Roanoke police can issue a citation to the driver based on an officer's own observation that the 50-foot threshold was exceeded or that a horn was sounded without a safety justification.