Tennessee: Is it legal to put a train horn on a car?
Tennessee bans sirens and exhaust, compression or spark plug whistles, and forbids unreasonably loud or harsh horn sounds, without naming air horns.
A car must have a working horn that can be heard from 200 feet. The law bans sirens and exhaust, compression or spark plug whistles on ordinary vehicles, and makes any unnecessary or unreasonably loud or harsh horn sound a Class C misdemeanor. A train horn isn't named, but its blast is very likely to count as unreasonably loud or harsh.
Conditions
- Horn must be audible from at least 200 feet
- No siren or exhaust, compression or spark plug whistle
- No unreasonably loud or harsh horn sound
- Horn may be used only as a reasonable warning
What the law says
(a) Every motor vehicle, when operated upon any road, street or highway of the state, shall be equipped with a horn in good working order capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than two hundred feet (200′), and it is unlawful, except as otherwise provided in this section, for any vehicle to be equipped with or for any person to use upon a vehicle any siren, exhaust, compression or spark plug whistle or for any person at any time to use a horn otherwise than as a reasonable warning or to make any unnecessary or unreasonably loud or harsh sound by means of a horn or other warning device.
Sources
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-9-201 Mirror of official text · codes.findlaw.com
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Tennessee Highway Patrol
- Website
- tn.gov
How bordering states compare
- Alabama Allowed with limitsAlabama has no train horn ban, but it is a crime to make an unnecessary or unreasonably loud or harsh sound with a horn.
- Arkansas Allowed with limitsArkansas has no train horn ban, but no horn may make an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle.
- Georgia Allowed with limitsGeorgia has no train horn ban, but no horn may make an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle.
- Kentucky Allowed with limitsKentucky sets no horn loudness limit but bars sirens, whistles, and bells on non-emergency vehicles.
- Mississippi Allowed with limitsMississippi bars any horn from making an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle, which a train horn likely breaks.
- 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.
- North Carolina Allowed with limitsNorth Carolina has no express train-horn ban, but making unreasonably loud or harsh sounds with a horn is illegal.
- Virginia Allowed with limitsVirginia allows only State Police-approved warning devices on public roads and bans unreasonably loud or harsh horn sounds; air horns aren't addressed for cars.