San Clemente prohibits unnecessary vehicle horns, defective mufflers, and rattling loads under SCMC §8.48.070, while general traffic noise on public streets is regulated by the California Vehicle Code rather than the local ordinance.
Section §8.48.070 lists prohibited vehicle noises: sounding a horn or signaling device except as a danger warning; exhaust discharged without an effective muffler; and using a vehicle so out of repair or loaded as to create grating, grinding or rattling noise. Playing a radio or instrument within a vehicle in public so as to disturb a person of normal sensitiveness is also prohibited. Under §8.48.090(L), traffic on public streets is exempt from Chapter 8.48 (except the specific §8.48.070 acts) and remains subject to the noise limits of the California Vehicle Code — which sets statewide muffler and vehicle-noise standards. Refuse-collection vehicles may not operate within or adjacent to residential areas between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. (§8.48.070(M)).
Local vehicle-noise acts under §8.48.070 are enforceable via SCMC §1.16.010 (misdemeanor up to $1,000/six months, or infraction $100/$200/$500). Loud- and modified-exhaust citations on public roads are typically issued by police under the California Vehicle Code.
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See how San Clemente's vehicle noise rules stack up against other locations.
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