2013 New York Consolidated Laws
VAT - Vehicle & Traffic
Title 3 - SAFETY RESPONSIBILITY; FINANCIAL SECURITY; EQUIPMENT; INSPECTION; SIZE AND WEIGHT; AND OTHER PROVISIONS
Article 10 - (385 - 386) DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHTS OF VEHICLES
386 - Motor vehicle sound level limits.

 
    § 386. Motor vehicle sound level limits. 1. As used in this section;
    a. A-weighted sound level shall mean the sound pressure level measured
  by  the  use  of  an  instrument  with  the metering characteristics and
  A-weighting frequency response prescribed for sound level meters.
    b. Combination of vehicles shall mean any device consisting of a motor
  vehicle and one or more trailers drawn by such motor vehicle.
    c. Sound pressure level shall mean twenty times the logarithm  to  the
  base  ten of the ratio of the root mean squared pressure of a sound to a
  reference pressure of twenty micropascals.  The  unit  applied  to  this
  measure shall be the decibel (dB).
    2.  This  section  shall apply to the total sound level emitted from a
  motor vehicle or a combination of vehicles.
    3. Unlawful acts.
    a. It shall be unlawful for any person  to  operate  or  cause  to  be
  operated  on  a  public  highway  any  motor  vehicle  or combination of
  vehicles with a maximum gross weight in excess of ten  thousand  pounds,
  at  any  time,  under  any  condition  of  grade,  load, acceleration or
  deceleration in such a manner as to  exceed  the  applicable  A-weighted
  sound  level set forth in table I. The maximum allowable sound levels in
  table I are based on a sound  level  measured  at,  or  adjusted  to,  a
  distance  of  fifty  feet from the center of the lane in which the motor
  vehicle is traveling.
                                   TABLE I
                              MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE
                           A-WEIGHTED SOUND LEVELS
                             Maximum Speed Limit
  35 miles
  per hour                                                         over 35
  or less                                                   miles per hour
  86dB (A)                                                       90 dB (A)
    b. In addition, it shall be unlawful for  any  person  to  operate  or
  cause  to  be  operated  on  a  public  highway  any  motor  vehicle  or
  combination of vehicles with a maximum gross weight  in  excess  of  ten
  thousand  pounds  and  equipped  with  an  engine  speed governor, which
  generates an A-weighted sound level  in  excess  of  eighty-eight  dB(A)
  measured  at,  or  adjusted  to,  a  distance  of  fifty  feet  from the
  longitudinal centerline of the vehicle, when the engine of such  vehicle
  is  accelerated  from  idle  with a wide open throttle to governed speed
  with the vehicle stationary, transmission in neutral and clutch engaged.
    c. It shall be unlawful for any person  to  operate  or  cause  to  be
  operated  on  a  public  highway  any  motor  vehicle  or combination of
  vehicles, except  motorcycles,  with  a  maximum  gross  weight  of  ten
  thousand  pounds  or  less,  at  any time, under any condition of grade,
  load, acceleration or deceleration in such a manner  as  to  exceed  the
  applicable  A-weighted  sound  level  set forth in table II. The maximum
  allowable sound levels in table II are based on a sound  level  measured
  at, or adjusted to, a distance of fifty feet from the center of the lane
  in which the motor vehicle is traveling:
                                   TABLE II
                              MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE
                           A-WEIGHTED SOUND LEVELS
                             Maximum Speed Limit
  35 miles
  per hour                                                         over 35
  or less                                                   miles per hour
  76 dB(A)                                                        82 dB(A)
    d.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any person to operate or cause to be
  operated on a public highway any motorcycle,  at  any  time,  under  any

  condition  of grade, load, acceleration or deceleration in such a manner
  as to exceed the applicable A-weighted sound level set  forth  in  table
  III.  The  maximum  allowable  sound  levels in table III are based on a
  sound  level  measured at, or adjusted to, a distance of fifty feet from
  the center of the lane in which the motorcycle is traveling.
                                   TABLE III
                              MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE
                           A-WEIGHTED SOUND LEVELS
                             Maximum Speed Limit
  35 miles
  per hour                                                         over 35
  or less                                                   miles per hour
  82 dB(A)                                                        86 dB(A)
    4. The commissioner of  environmental  conservation  shall  promulgate
  regulations  establishing the measurement procedures and instrumentation
  to be utilized in the enforcement of this section.
    a. These procedures shall allow, to the extent feasible, motor vehicle
  sound measurements to be accomplished in reasonably confined areas  such
  as  residential  areas  of  urban  cities,  and  may  provide  for sound
  measurement at distances other than fifty feet and in  the  vicinity  of
  sound reflecting surfaces.
    b. The regulations shall take into consideration recognized scientific
  and  professional  standards  for  the  measurement  of  vehicular sound
  levels.
    5. The provisions of this section shall  not  apply  to  vehicles  and
  implements or combinations thereof used solely for farm purposes, nor to
  authorized emergency vehicles.
    6.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  construed  as  limiting  or
  precluding the  enforcement  of  equipment  requirements  or  any  other
  provisions of law relating to motor vehicle noise.
    7.  At  intervals  of  not  more  than  two years, the commissioner of
  environmental  conservation  shall  report  to  the  governor  and   the
  legislature on the current state of the art of motor vehicle sound level
  limitations and recommend changes as necessary.