Connecticut: Is it legal to put a train horn on a car?
Connecticut has no train horn ban, but no horn may make an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle.
Connecticut requires a working horn audible from 200 feet and bars any horn from making an unreasonably loud or harsh sound. Vehicles must also be equipped to prevent unnecessary or unusual noise, and sirens, whistles, and bells are banned on ordinary vehicles. A train horn, built to sound like a locomotive, is likely to fail these rules, though the law sets no decibel number for horns.
Conditions
- Horn must be audible from 200 feet
- No unreasonably loud or harsh sound or whistle
- Vehicle must be equipped to prevent unnecessary or unusual noise
- No sirens, whistles, or bells as warning devices on non-emergency vehicles
What the law says
(e) Every motor vehicle shall, when operated on a highway, be equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than two hundred feet, but no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle.
Sources
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-80(e) (Connecticut General Assembly) Official · cga.ct.gov
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-80 (FindLaw reproduction) Mirror of official text · codes.findlaw.com
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles
- Phone
- 860-263-5700
- Website
- portal.ct.gov
How bordering states compare
- Massachusetts Allowed with limitsMassachusetts has no train horn ban, but sounding any horn to make a harsh, objectionable or unreasonable noise is illegal.
- New York Allowed with limitsNew York has no express train-horn ban, but a car horn may not be unnecessarily loud or harsh.
- Rhode Island Allowed with limitsRhode Island has no express train-horn ban, but no horn may make an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle.
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