Noise Ordinance

Here where I am its not a dB level but rather how many feet away from your car you can be heard....

I think if the officer can hear your stereo from 20 ft or something you are too loud. Which is complete BS....How many times have I been sitting at a stop light and from behind me all I can hear is the wide open exhaust of a Harley Davidson Motorcycle and they never get a noise violation....

I would go to the courthouse or ask a Police officer about the specifics...They will tell you ..

Making the World A Louder Place

I like the disclaimers, haemphyst. 

I also like the suggestions, to some extent.  However, there are arguments on the other side and the outcome is far from clear. 

The difference - clear difference - with the Harley, lawn mower, old cars, trucks, etc., is that those devices do not have a volume control.  There is absolutely no burden on the owner of a stereo to turn his volume knob down a bit.  On the flip side - there would be a real financial, effort, and time burden on all of the other devices you mentioned to control their volume.  Moreover, the other devices serve some limited utility - your stereo serves absolutely zero utility.  Worse still, because of the variable nature of your car stereo, along with other facts like 2 15" woofers, windows rolled down, etc. -  it is very easy to argue that you _intend_ to make yourself heard.  You _intend_ to disturb the peace.  The mower of lawn certainly doesn't _intend_ to make noise - he intends to cut his damn grass.  The Harley man doesn't _intend_ to disturb others (arguably) he simply intends to transport himself from point A to point B.

It won't take a genius prosecutor to make these arguments.  The outcome - even if you come up with picture perfect research or seemingly airtight argument - is far from clear. 

Rule of thumb - next time you turn the volume knob up ask yourself why you're doing it?  Are you trying to impress others on the road?  Are you trying to grab attention?  If so, it is probably too loud and I frankly don't feel badly for you if you're pulled over and ticketed.  I highly doubt that people listening at reasonable personal listening levels with the windows rolled up get pulled over often.

And if you boom in my neighborhood after I fall asleep you should be pounded with a heavy hammer. 

I am also not an attorney and the above does not constitute legal advice.

There is a HUGE difference in this case chuck... The law becomes too stingent at times and must be fought back. Now if they say between like 10/11PM to like 8 AM I can't do it, fine, I don't care, there is a VERY good reason for that. (Locally there is one strip of old folk homes that has problems with music at night like this, and that is completely logical, sleeping shouldn't be violated.) There are also areas that I understand my crude music shouldn't be heard(schools, though they can only really get you if you are off school property or drastically exceeding the property line of the school with the music, which the high school is well off the road, so then the school can provide issues. School=Private Property) But if I can't drive around with my music hitting hard like I like it in the middle of the day, that's bs. There is a hill climb quite often around this area, and that means high traffic of, sorry to say this, assaholic bikers. I have to turn my music up to hear OVER them when they are down the road, and when they accelerate it freaking hurts my ears! When they pull up next to me, I have to close my car to even attempt hearing the music. That is ridiculous, and part of my counter is going to be a loud system, you want a loud car, I'll have a loud car, we'll see who wins. And if I'm getting pulled over for it, they should be as well, but they won't, for the above reasons. Not fighting the law... Hmmm. How do you think we became an independent nation? Really, just think about that. Sometimes the law is too imposing and counter measures must be taken, I live in a small town, and work for the big delivery place, so some cops are willing to let me go on that account with a warning. But I also travel to other stupid annoying towns, and mine has some, where the cops are just dicks and are prejudice, plain and simple.

Boom responsibly, yes. But responsible is COMPLETELY up to the decision of the cop. Just like tinted windows, there is NO percentage guide, yet they can still issue a ticket. A local Police Officer(PO) told me that if I go dark, TO PROTECT MY EQUIPMENT, just to make sure to turn my dome light on at night and make sure all hands of everyone in the car is visible. I might still get the ticket, but odds are it'll let me off.

There is acceptable reasons for laws, yes, but there is just some stuff that is outrageous. They damn well better have a dB minimum in the books or I'm not gonna be drastically worried, because that doesn't hold worth crap.