West Virginia: Is it legal to put a train horn on a car?
West Virginia bars unreasonably loud or harsh horns and whistles, and bans sirens, whistles and bells on ordinary vehicles.
A car must have a working horn that can be heard from 200 feet. No horn or other warning device may emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle, and sirens, whistles and bells are limited to emergency vehicles. Train horns aren't named, but a typical train horn very likely fails the loud-or-harsh rule.
Conditions
- Horn must be audible from at least 200 feet
- No unreasonably loud or harsh sound or whistle
- No siren, whistle or bell except emergency vehicles
- Horn may be used only when reasonably necessary for safe operation
What the law says
(a) 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 feet, but no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle. The driver of a motor vehicle shall when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation give audible warning with his horn but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway. (b) No vehicle shall be equipped with nor shall any person use upon a vehicle any siren, whistle, or bell, except as otherwise permitted in this section.
Sources
- W. Va. Code § 17C-15-33 Official · code.wvlegislature.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- West Virginia State Police
- Phone
- (304) 746-2100
- Website
- wv.gov
How bordering states compare
- Kentucky Allowed with limitsKentucky sets no horn loudness limit but bars sirens, whistles, and bells on non-emergency vehicles.
- Maryland Allowed with limitsMaryland bans horns that make an unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle, which a typical train horn likely fails.
- Ohio Allowed with limitsOhio sets no loudness limit for horns but bans sirens, whistles and bells on ordinary vehicles; whether that covers train horns is unsettled.
- Pennsylvania Allowed with limitsPennsylvania bans whistles, whistle-like devices and any unreasonably loud or harsh sound device on vehicles driven on highways.
- 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.
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