Sauk County, WI Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Sauk County's traffic subchapter, adopted under Wis. Stats. §§ 349.06 and 350.18, targets excessive-acceleration noise in Sec. 6.010, Disturbance of the peace with a motor vehicle. The rule reaches motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and motor bicycles as well as ordinary cars and trucks: an operator may not spin tires through excessive and unnecessary acceleration so that they emit loud noises or throw stones and gravel, and may not rev an engine hard enough to create a loud noise that disturbs the public peace. The definitions used across the traffic subchapter, including motor vehicle, come from Wis.

Stats. § 340.01, which Sec. 6.008 adopts and incorporates by reference. Sec. 6.009 folds in every traffic regulation in Wis. Stats. chs. 341 through 348 and ch. 350, plus Wis. Admin. Code § Trans. 305, so state equipment and muffler standards apply on county highways even though the county writes its own noise clause. Enforcement rests with the Sauk County Sheriff's Department under Sec. 6.013, and any sworn officer within the county may issue a citation. Because Sec. 6.012 does not list a specific dollar forfeiture for Sec.

6.010, a violation defaults to the general forfeiture set by the Wisconsin Statutes or the deposit schedule the judicial conference establishes under Wis. Stats. § 345.26(2)(a), plus the cost of prosecution under Wis. Stats. ch. 345. The subchapter is enforced the same way as Wis. Stats. §§ 345.20 through 345.53 direct, so citations, court dates and forfeiture collection follow the state's uniform traffic procedure rather than a separate county court process.