Ohio: Is it legal to put a train horn on a car?
Ohio sets no loudness limit for horns but bans sirens, whistles and bells on ordinary vehicles; whether that covers train horns is unsettled.
Ohio requires a working horn audible from 200 feet and, unlike many states, sets no rule against unreasonably loud or harsh horns. It does bar any vehicle from being equipped with, or using, a siren, whistle or bell, except emergency vehicles. No state source found says an air or train horn counts as a "whistle", so this is a limit, not a clear ban. A violation is a minor misdemeanor, and local noise rules may also apply.
Conditions
- No siren, whistle or bell on non-emergency vehicles
What the law says
Every motor vehicle or trackless trolley when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with a horn which is in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible, under normal conditions, from a distance of not less than two hundred feet. No motor vehicle or trackless trolley shall be equipped with, nor shall any person use upon a vehicle, any siren, whistle, or bell.
Sources
- Ohio Rev. Code § 4513.21 Official · codes.ohio.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Ohio State Highway Patrol
- Website
- statepatrol.ohio.gov
How bordering states compare
- Indiana Allowed with limitsIndiana bans horns that make an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle, which a typical train horn likely fails.
- Kentucky Allowed with limitsKentucky sets no horn loudness limit but bars sirens, whistles, and bells on non-emergency vehicles.
- Michigan Allowed with limitsMichigan bars any horn from making an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle, which a train horn likely breaks.
- Pennsylvania Allowed with limitsPennsylvania bans whistles, whistle-like devices and any unreasonably loud or harsh sound device on vehicles driven on highways.
- West Virginia Allowed with limitsWest Virginia bars unreasonably loud or harsh horns and whistles, and bans sirens, whistles and bells on ordinary vehicles.