Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 4513 | Traffic Laws - Equipment; Loads
Section 4513.221 | Local Regulation of Passenger Car and Motorcycle Noise.

Effective: June 26, 1986
Latest Legislation: House Bill 131 - 116th General Assembly
(A) The board of county commissioners of any county, and the board of township trustees of any township subject to section 505.17 of the Revised Code, may regulate passenger car and motorcycle noise on streets and highways under their jurisdiction. Such regulations shall include maximum permissible noise limits measured in decibels, subject to the requirements of this section.
(B) Regulations establishing maximum permissible noise limits measured in decibels shall prohibit the operation, within the speed limits specified herein, of a passenger car or motorcycle of a type subject to registration at any time or under any condition of load, acceleration, or deceleration in such manner as to exceed the following maximum noise limits, based on a distance of not less than fifty feet from the center of the line of travel:
(1) For passenger cars:
(a) When operated at a speed of thirty-five miles per hour or less, a maximum noise limit of seventy decibels;
(b) When operated at a speed of more than thirty-five miles per hour, a maximum noise limit of seventy-nine decibels.
(2) For motorcycles:
(a) When operated at a speed of thirty-five miles per hour or less, a maximum noise limit of eighty-two decibels;
(b) When operated at a speed of more than thirty-five miles per hour, a maximum noise limit of eighty-six decibels.
(C) Maximum noise limits established pursuant to division (B) of this section shall be measured on the "A" scale of a standard sound level meter meeting the applicable requirements for a type 2 sound level meter as defined in American national standards institute standard S1.4 - 1983, or the most recent revision thereof. Measurement practices shall be in substantial conformity with standards and recommended practice established by the society of automotive engineers, including SAE standard J 986 A NOV81, SAE standard J 366 MAR85, SAE standard J 331 A, and such other standards and practices as may be approved by the federal government.
(D) No regulation enacted under division (B) of this section shall be effective until signs giving notice of the regulation are posted upon or at the entrance to the highway or part thereof affected, as may be most appropriate.
(E) A board of county commissioners of any county may regulate noise from passenger cars, motorcycles, or other devices using internal combustion engines in the unincorporated area of the county, and a board of township trustees may regulate such noise in the unincorporated area of the township, in any of the following ways:
(1) By prohibiting operating or causing to be operated any motor vehicle, agricultural tractor, motorcycle, all-purpose vehicle, or snowmobile not equipped with a factory-installed muffler or equivalent muffler in good working order and in constant operation;
(2) By prohibiting the removing or rendering inoperative, or causing to be removed or rendered inoperative, other than for purposes of maintenance, repair, or replacement, of any muffler;
(3) By prohibiting the discharge into the open air of exhaust of any stationary or portable internal combustion engine except through a factory-installed muffler or equivalent muffler in good working order and in constant operation;
(4) By prohibiting racing the motor of any vehicle described in division (E)(1) of this section in such a manner that the exhaust system emits a loud, cracking, or chattering noise unusual to its normal operation.
(F) Whoever violates any maximum noise limit established as provided in division (B) of this section or any of the prohibitions authorized in division (E) of this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor. Fines collected under this section by the county shall be paid into the county general fund, and such fines collected by the township shall be paid into the township general fund.
No regulation adopted under this section shall apply to commercial racetrack operations.

Structure Ohio Revised Code