§ 386 — Motor vehicle sound level limits

§ 386. Motor vehicle sound level limits. 1. As used in this section;\n a. A-weighted sound level shall mean the sound pressure level measured\nby the use of an instrument with the metering characteristics and\nA-weighting frequency response prescribed for sound level meters.\n b. Combination of vehicles shall mean any device consisting of a motor\nvehicle and one or more trailers drawn by such motor vehicle.\n c. Sound pressure level shall mean twenty times the logarithm to the\nbase ten of the ratio of the root mean squared pressure of a sound to a\nreference pressure of twenty micropascals. The unit applied to this\nmeasure shall be the decibel (dB).\n 2. This section shall apply to the total sound level emitted from a\nmotor vehicle or a combination of vehicles.\n 3. Unlawful acts.\n a. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or cause to be\noperated on a public highway any motor vehicle or combination of\nvehicles with a maximum gross weight in excess of ten thousand pounds,\nat any time, under any condition of grade, load, acceleration or\ndeceleration in such a manner as to exceed the applicable A-weighted\nsound level set forth in table I. The maximum allowable sound levels in\ntable I are based on a sound level measured at, or adjusted to, a\ndistance of fifty feet from the center of the lane in which the motor\nvehicle is traveling.\n TABLE I\n MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE\n A-WEIGHTED SOUND LEVELS\n MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT\n35 miles\nper hour over 35\nOR LESS MILES PER HOUR\n86DB (A) 90 DB (A)\n b. In addition, it shall be unlawful for any person to operate or\ncause to be operated on a public highway any motor vehicle or\ncombination of vehicles with a maximum gross weight in excess of ten\nthousand pounds and equipped with an engine speed governor, which\ngenerates an A-weighted sound level in excess of eighty-eight dB(A)\nmeasured at, or adjusted to, a distance of fifty feet from the\nlongitudinal centerline of the vehicle, when the engine of such vehicle\nis accelerated from idle with a wide open throttle to governed speed\nwith the vehicle stationary, transmission in neutral and clutch engaged.\n c. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or cause to be\noperated on a public highway any motor vehicle or combination of\nvehicles, except motorcycles, with a maximum gross weight of ten\nthousand pounds or less, at any time, under any condition of grade,\nload, acceleration or deceleration in such a manner as to exceed the\napplicable A-weighted sound level set forth in table II. The maximum\nallowable sound levels in table II are based on a sound level measured\nat, or adjusted to, a distance of fifty feet from the center of the lane\nin which the motor vehicle is traveling:\n TABLE II\n MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE\n A-WEIGHTED SOUND LEVELS\n MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT\n35 miles\nper hour over 35\nOR LESS MILES PER HOUR\n76 DB(A) 82 DB(A)\n d. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or cause to be\noperated on a public highway any motorcycle, at any time, under any\ncondition of grade, load, acceleration or deceleration in such a manner\nas to exceed the applicable A-weighted sound level set forth in table\nIII. The maximum allowable sound levels in table III are based on a\nsound level measured at, or adjusted to, a distance of fifty feet from\nthe center of the lane in which the motorcycle is traveling.\n TABLE III\n MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE\n A-WEIGHTED SOUND LEVELS\n MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT\n35 miles\nper hour over 35\nOR LESS MILES PER HOUR\n82 DB(A) 86 DB(A)\n 4. The commissioner of environmental conservation shall promulgate\nregulations establishing the measurement procedures and instrumentation\nto be utilized in the enforcement of this section.\n a. These procedures shall allow, to the extent feasible, motor vehicle\nsound measurements to be accomplished in reasonably confined areas such\nas residential areas of urban cities, and may provide for sound\nmeasurement at distances other than fifty feet and in the vicinity of\nsound reflecting surfaces.\n b. The regulations shall take into consideration recognized scientific\nand professional standards for the measurement of vehicular sound\nlevels.\n 5. The provisions of this section shall not apply to vehicles and\nimplements or combinations thereof used solely for farm purposes, nor to\nauthorized emergency vehicles.\n 6. Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting or\nprecluding the enforcement of equipment requirements or any other\nprovisions of law relating to motor vehicle noise.\n 7. At intervals of not more than two years, the commissioner of\nenvironmental conservation shall report to the governor and the\nlegislature on the current state of the art of motor vehicle sound level\nlimitations and recommend changes as necessary.\n