Oklahoma: Is it legal to put a train horn on a car?
Oklahoma has no express train-horn ban, but no horn or warning device may emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound.
Oklahoma requires a horn audible from 200 feet but bars any horn from emitting an unreasonably loud or harsh sound, which a typical train horn likely fails. Unlike many states, Oklahoma's equipment ban names only sirens, not whistles or bells. It is also illegal to use any sound device that mimics an emergency vehicle or makes other drivers yield and stop. Since 2021, drivers may not honk when passing bicyclists or horse riders unless a crash is imminent.
Conditions
- Horn may not emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound
- No siren on non-emergency vehicles
- No device that imitates emergency-vehicle signals or makes drivers yield
What the law says
Every motor vehicle when operated upon a highway shall 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 (200) feet, but no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound. ... No vehicle shall be equipped with nor shall any person use upon a vehicle any siren, except as otherwise permitted in subsection D of this section.
Sources
- 47 O.S. § 12-401, as amended by Enrolled HB 1770 (2021) Official · oklegislature.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Oklahoma Highway Patrol
- Website
- oklahoma.gov
How bordering states compare
- Arkansas Allowed with limitsArkansas has no train horn ban, but no horn may make an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle.
- Colorado Allowed with limitsColorado has no named train horn ban, but horns may not be unreasonably loud or harsh, and extra audible devices are barred.
- Kansas Allowed with limitsKansas bans horns that make an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or whistle, which a typical train horn likely fails.
- Missouri Allowed with limitsMissouri allows a horn or whistle but bars unnecessary noise and any other sound-producing signaling device, which may cover an added train horn.
- New Mexico Allowed with limitsNew Mexico has no express train-horn ban, but every horn must make a harmonious sound, and sirens, whistles and bells are banned.
- Texas Allowed with limitsTexas bans sirens, whistles and bells on ordinary vehicles, and says no horn may make an unreasonably loud or harsh sound.