Did you know that it’s illegal in New York City to honk your horn unless it’s an emergency? It’s one of those driving habits that could get you pulled over, even if it may not seem like it. Judging from all the honking that goes on in New York, though, you’d think there are a lot of emergencies. Or maybe we just don’t understand what the word “emergency” means. We weren’t aware that it could apply when someone doesn’t move quite fast enough when a light turns green.
Drivers in NYC can get fined anywhere from $800 to $2,500 if they honk unnecessarily. However, of the 326,509 vehicle noise complaints filed between 2020 and 2025, just 0.8% resulted in a summons or arrest, according to the NYC Office of Technology and Innovation. So, your odds for getting a ticket for honking are currently pretty low. That’s beginning to change, though. NYC drivers have started receiving citations in the mail for honking — and it’s all thanks to little cameras that have begun popping up around the city.
Starting in June 2021, New York began a program using sound cameras to catch honkers, loud mufflers, and other noisy vehicles and their drivers. The program began with just one camera and took a little while to gain traction. By November 2023, the city had issued 147 summonses to honkers. But during 2024, the first full year the city had nine cameras, 849 summonses were issued for all noise violations.
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How NYC’s new noise cameras work
Driver honking his horn in frustration. – FaceStock/Shutterstock
If 300,000 vehicle noise complaints were filed between 2020 and 2025, how come less than 1% resulted in an arrest or summons? Well, because an officer pretty much has to see the offense taking place to issue a summons and has up to 8 hours to respond to a complaint — even longer if the department is particularly busy that day. The offending cabbie could be blocks away by then.
This is why the cameras the city has installed have microphones that pick up ambient noises. If a noise higher than 85 db originates from a vehicle on the street, the camera is activated and takes a picture of the offender’s license plate. The owner of the vehicle is then mailed a summons in the amount of $800 for the first offense — the fine increases for repeat offenses. The noise cameras also catch loud modded mufflers and exhaust systems, which is no surprise given that New York has one of the strictest vehicle modification laws in the country.
There might be more effective solutions than ticketing
Woman behind the wheel honking her car horn. – Jo Panuwat D/Shutterstock
While the cameras seem to be effective at catching some noisy drivers, 1,600 summonses in a city of over 8 million people aren’t even a drop in the bucket. Obviously, it will take more cameras to make a difference. That’s why the city council mandated that five cameras be installed in every borough by September 2025, but no money has been allocated to do that. At most, just two more cameras were projected to be purchased this year.
There is, however, a solution that was launched just this January in Manhattan and has already resulted in a 70% reduction in excessive honking complaints, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. At the beginning of this year, New York City instituted “congestion pricing”, charging drivers when they enter Manhattan below 60th Street — its “Congestion Relief Zone.” The move was controversial. After all, who wants to pay higher tolls? Even the federal government has gotten involved and gone to court to try to stop the move.
The measure was meant to reduce congestion and move more people to public transit, which it accomplished. But a pleasant side effect has been a significant reduction in noise. Some still aren’t sold on congestion pricing, however, and argue that the higher tolls mainly impact the working class, leaving the roadways clear for those wealthy enough to afford the tolls. There’s probably no perfect solution to the noise problem in The Big Apple. At least for now, your chances of getting a ticket for honking are pretty slim.
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