Noise safety regulation for silencers in Georgia

From the volume of your car radio to the volume of your muffler, Georgia has a noise ordinance. However, it is at the discretion of the officials whether they enforce this.

ATLANTA – More people are out and the streets of Atlanta seem to be filling up again. Are the cars louder or are we no longer used to the noise? What about loud mufflers?

“I think they’re really annoying,” said an 11Alive viewer.

Another viewer, Ed Hutchins, asked our VERIFY team to verify the facts about Georgia state noise regulations for mufflers.

We took his question to the experts.

THE QUESTION

“There seems to be no noise protection law and no more regulations for car silencers. True? Loud, growling mufflers seem to be everywhere I go now, “Hutchins asked.

THE ANSWER

Yes, there are two types of vehicle noise regulations in Georgia. One is for loud music and the other is for loud silencers. Whether this is enforced, however, is up to the police.

WHAT WE KNOW

Let’s start by explaining the two regulations.

The first is about the music from your vehicle. According to the Official Code of Georgia, you cannot produce sound from your radio, cassette player, CD, etc. that can be heard within 30 meters or more of your vehicle. The violation of this regulation is an administrative offense in Georgia.

The other noise regulation in Georgia has vocabulary related to the sound of a vehicle muffler.

However, we found that the regulation is rather vague.

It states that you must not sell or offer a muffler that makes “excessive and unusual noise”. If you do this, the law says it is an administrative offense.

But what is considered excessive, unusual, and often enforced?

Our VERIFY team went to see Lieutenant W. Mark Riley, the Public Information Director for the Department of Public Safety and Georgia State Patrol.

“To the best of my knowledge, Georgia law does not impose a decibel limit on silencer noise. It is at the discretion of the officer / officer to determine if it is excessive,” explained Riley.

So we can VERIFY that there is a law in Georgia that addresses loud mufflers, but enforcement is at the discretion of the officer.

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