(a) No operator or passenger of a motor vehicle shall operate, or permit the operation of any sound amplification system which can be heard outside the vehicle and plainly audible from fifty or more feet, when a vehicle is being operated upon a street or highway.
(b) “Sound amplification system” includes any radio, tape player, compact disc player, loud speaker, or other electronic device used for amplification of the human voice, music or any other noise or sound.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any law enforcement motor vehicle equipped with any communication device necessary in the performance of law enforcement duties, to any emergency vehicle equipped with any communication device necessary in the performance of any emergency procedures, or vehicles owned and operated by the City, gas company, communications company, or utility company.
(d) The provision of this section does not apply to the noise made by a horn or other warning device required by or permitted by state law.
(e) “Plainly audible” shall mean any sound from within the interior or exterior of a motor vehicle that can be clearly heard outside the vehicle by a person using his normal hearing faculties, at a distance of fifty (50) feet or more from the motor vehicle.
(f) The motor vehicle from which the sound is produced must be located (stopped, standing or moving) within the City; parking lots and driveways are included.
(g) Any law enforcement personnel who hears a sound that is plainly audible, as defined herein, shall be entitled to measure the sound according to the following standards:
(1) The primary means of detection shall be by means of the officer’s ordinary auditory senses, so long as the officer’s hearing is not enhanced by any mechanical device, such as a microphone or hearing aid.
(2) The officer must have a direct line of sight and hearing to the motor vehicle producing the sound so that he can readily identify the offending motor vehicle and the distance involved.
(3) The officer need not determine the particular words or phrases being produced or the name of any song or artist producing the sound. The detection of a rhythmic bass reverberating type sound is sufficient to constitute a plainly audible sound.
(Ord. 30-1996. Passed 5-6-96.)
(h) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor for a first offense and a fourth degree misdemeanor for each subsequent offense.
(Ord. 30-1996. Passed 5-6-96.)