A new draft ordinance follows years of complaints about disrupted sleep and close calls from reckless driving.
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin could soon crack down on excessively loud cars and motorcycles, with a new proposal aimed at curbing noise tied to racing and reckless driving citywide.
City Council Member Marc Duchen, who represents District 10, said complaints have surged in recent years, particularly along RM 2222 and Loop 360. His district stretches west of MoPac Expressway to Lake Travis.
Some residents say the noise is especially disruptive on weekend mornings, sometimes as early as 7 a.m., and that it has intensified over the past five years.
Duchen’s office helped develop a draft ordinance that would tighten rules around vehicle noise and aggressive driving behavior. The proposal targets vehicle noises or vibrations considered “loud or disturbing.” That includes:
Enforcement would be left to the discretion of a peace officer.
“We looked at Myrtle Beach, we looked at, in some cases, these were small- to medium-sized cities but that had major racing or bike rallies that noise became an acute problem for businesses and communities that lived there, and that’s really what this is about. It’s a quality-of-life issue,” Duchen said.
During the Public Safety Committee’s Feb. 2 meeting, several residents from District 10 spoke in favor of the proposal. One resident played cellphone videos for council members, capturing persistent motorcycle noise in her neighborhood.
“Even with sound machines on and your TV on, your family is regularly disturbed by motorcycles and other vehicles with modified exhaust systems,” said Lisa Capps, another resident who lives in the Northwest Hills neighborhood near 2222 and MoPac. “Outdoors, the noise is even more noticeable and intrusive. As you saw in the videos, the problem has persisted for years and continues to worsen.”
At that same meeting, Austin Police Department Commander Craig Smith told council members officers averaged nearly 20 hours of overtime per month working traffic enforcement along RM 2222 during the first nine months of last year. During that time, officers wrote nearly 300 tickets and issued more than 200 warnings.
Commander Smith said tougher noise rules could also help address complaints along Loop 360, Downtown Austin and the Y at Oak Hill.
If approved, Duchen says violators could face fines of up to $500 in most cases.
He also stressed the importance of the planned return of APD’s Motors Unit, which was disbanded in 2021 due to budget cuts and staffing shortages, in helping with traffic enforcement.
APD plans to bring the proposed ordinance to the full City Council for a vote on March 26.