Wayne County, NC Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Wayne County Code § 30-148(b) makes it unlawful for anyone to sound a horn, signal device, or siren on an automobile, motor vehicle, bus, truck, or other vehicle, except as a danger signal or as required by law, so as to create any unreasonably loud or harsh sound; the same subsection separately bars sounding such a device for more than ten seconds in a way that disturbs the quiet, comfort, or repose of anyone nearby. Section 30-149(12) exempts noise from the normal operation of a motor vehicle properly equipped with the manufacturer's standard muffler and noise-reducing equipment, which means a vehicle running without that standard equipment is not shielded by the exemption and can still be cited under the general prohibitions of § 30-148.

Enforcement runs through the Wayne County Sheriff's Office under § 30-141; noise is measured under § 30-151 using a certified sound level meter from beyond the property line where it originates, or from 100 feet into a public right-of-way. A resident can file a complaint under § 30-152, and a deputy who confirms a violation may issue a written warning, a civil citation, or pursue criminal process. This rule applies only within Wayne County's unincorporated rural areas and outside any municipality's corporate limits, per § 30-142; vehicle noise inside Goldsboro or another town falls under that municipality's own code.