Schenectady, NY Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Section 182-4 of the Noise chapter, rewritten in its entirety by Ordinance No. 2006-6, lists specific activities the City treats as prohibited noise. Subsection B, Noisy Vehicles, bars three things: operating a car, motorcycle or other vehicle so out of repair, overloaded or mishandled that it creates loud grating, grinding or rattling noise; operating a vehicle to cause unnecessary noise by spinning or squealing tires or revving the motor; and modifying a muffler, exhaust system or other noise-control device so the vehicle emits more noise than it did when newly manufactured, regardless of the vehicle's age.

The section also imposes an ongoing maintenance duty: every vehicle's noise-control devices must be kept in good working order, and no one may operate or allow operation of a vehicle whose muffler or exhaust has been altered or left unmaintained. Section 182-5A separately treats an eighty-decibel meter reading as a presumptively excessive violation and incorporates the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law's muffler standard by reference. Schenectady Police Department officers investigate complaints filed under oath with a signed deposition per § 182-7, and the Code Enforcement Officer can seize the offending noise source as evidence pending trial under § 182-6B.