Overview
- The City Council voted unanimously to create a Class C misdemeanor for excessive engine noise, allowing fines up to $500.
- Violations include noise over 85 decibels or sounds deemed offensive to a person of ordinary sensibilities, with behaviors such as rapid acceleration, revving and racing listed.
- An amendment requires officers to issue a warning before any ticket, a step urged by the ACLU of Texas and adopted to curb inconsistent or discriminatory enforcement.
- Austin police will train officers and conduct public education, with a 30-day grace period during which officers may issue warnings instead of citations.
- Officials acknowledge enforcement challenges and limited decibel-measuring tools, so officers will weigh factors like intensity, proximity to homes, time of day and duration, after years of resident complaints on corridors such as RM 2222.