Excessive sound system — Maine Permit Test

Excessive sound system on the Maine permit test — 2 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

In Maine, you may not play a vehicle sound system on a public way loud enough to be heard more than 25 feet away and over 85 decibels, or louder than is reasonable for the place.

Music that booms down the street keeps you, and others, from hearing a siren or a horn.

A person may not operate a sound system in a vehicle on a public way at a volume that is audible at a distance greater than 25 feet and that exceeds 85 decibels or that is greater than is reasonable with due regard to the location of the vehicle and the effect on persons in proximity to the vehicle.

Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.22

Breaking Maine's excessive sound system law is a traffic infraction: $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second and $150 for a third or later.

Fines that climb with each offense give a repeat offender a reason to turn it down.

Violation of this law is a traffic infraction and will be assessed $50 for a first offense, $100 for a 2nd offense and $150 for a 3rd or subsequent offense.

Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.22

On the test

Maine forbids a car sound system that exceeds 85 decibels and can be heard beyond what distance?

25 feet. Music that booms down the street keeps you, and others, from hearing a siren or a horn. Maine Driver’s License Manual, p.22: “A person may not operate a sound system in a vehicle on a public way at a volume that is audible at a distance greater than 25 feet and that exceeds 85 decibels or that is greater than is reasonable with due regard to the location of the vehicle and the effect on persons in proximity to the vehicle.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Maine Driver’s License Manual, published by the Maine Secretary of State, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-10-05.