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What are the federal and New York State regulations related to vehicle horn equipment? Which governing bodies produce these regulations? To be clear, I'm not interested in the regulations as to the USE of vehicle horns, but, rather, the regulations related to the specifications of the equipment. I'm particularly interested in knowing whether there are specific regulations as to the minimum and maximum decibels as well as the duration of the honking sound. Also, I'd be curious to know whether anyone has tried to get such regulations introduced if they don't exist.
Hi! Thanks for your question about federal and New York state regulations governing vehicle horn equipment. Here's the short answer: the Federal Highway Administration has a hand in this issue, requiring every state to have highway noise ordinances in place, but it's up to state regulators like New York's Governor's Traffic Safety Committee to determine specific regulations.
In New York, depending on vehicle size, maximum road volume runs between 76 and 90 dB -- I wasn't able to find any regulations on the books at the state or federal level about the duration of horn use. Read on for my full rundown!
OVERVIEW
I searched several law databases, including New York's Department of Motor Vehicles and the Federal Register, for vehicle horn regulations on the books. New York has a nonspecific statute regarding horn volume, and federal guidelines specify some things about horn equipment and controls, but overall, few regulations exist that specifically regard vehicle horn equipment. I wasn't able to find any record of individuals or groups advancing legislation or regulations that would limit horn volume capabilities or duration specifically outside of what already exists.
I was able to find New York state statutes regarding overall maximum noise produced by a vehicle. It stands to reason that horn volume would be included in these maximum levels, so I've included that information in the section on New York regulations below.
FEDERAL REGULATIONS
A few federal agencies have a hand in horn equipment regulations. The Federal Highway Administration prompted states to adopt statewide road noise ordinances in 1995 -- New York state regulations followed that directive.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (a department of the US Department of Transportation) also has some regulations for horn equipment on commercial vehicles. However, those guidelines only specify that commercial vehicles "shall be equipped with a horn and actuating elements which shall be in such condition as to give an adequate and reliable warning signal." FMCSA regulations don't specify what type of horn should be used or a specific minimum decibel rating.
Lastly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a set of regulations called the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. However, the FMVSS covers mostly horn control placement and iconography and doesn't include any regulations on horn volume.
NY STATE REGULATIONS
As published by the New York Governor's Traffic Safety Committee, New York's only horn-specific regulation reads: "Every motor vehicle, operated or driven upon the public highways of the state, shall be provided with ... a suitable and adequate horn or other device for signaling, which horn or device shall produce a sound sufficiently loud to serve as a danger warning but shall not be used other than as a reasonable warning nor be unnecessarily loud or harsh."
According to this blog post on a truck modification community, it's up to individual law enforcement officers on a case-by-case basis what exactly constitutes "unnecessarily loud or harsh," but something the volume of a train horn would probably be too loud.
New York state regulations do establish maximum volume for general road noise in accordance with Federal Highway Administration guidelines. These maximum levels vary by vehicle size -- for vehicles under 10,000 pounds, the maximum noise level is 76 dB in sub-35 MPH speed zones and 82 dB in 35 MPH zones and above, measured on a calibrated decibel meter at "a distance of fifty feet from the longitudinal centerline of the vehicle." For larger vehicles, the maximum levels are 86 dB under 35 MPH speed limits and 90 dB over 35 MPH. While these regulations are designed to provide a maximum level of general road noise, it seems likely that horn volume would be included.
CONCLUSION
A few federal agencies have set regulations on horn equipment placement and iconography, but the most common regulation is that each vehicle on the road must have a horn for signaling purposes. New York state regulations specify that horns can't be "unnecessarily loud or harsh," but interpretation of that statute is up to individual law enforcement officers. New York does have statutes governing maximum overall vehicle volume capabilities, and it makes sense that horn volume would be governed by those levels, but that's as close as I found to a regulation on maximum horn volume.
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