We have all probably been there at one point in our lives.  A good song comes on the radio and we crank up the volume as loud as we can stand it.  The windows in our car might rattle but that fails to be a signal that maybe we should turn our music down.  The people in the cars around us are likely giving us a look of annoyance as they can hear our music better than their own.  So many people ask, how loud is too loud for car stereos?

The definition of what is too loud is going to vary from person to person.  The hearing capabilities of people also vary so what seems loud to one person might not seem loud to another.  Is it wrong to ask someone with poor hearing to turn down their music?  Is it wrong to subject someone to deafening music so you can enjoy it more?  In reality the answer likely lies in the exact situation in which you find yourself asking the question.

If you are driving down the highway in the middle of the night and nobody else is around, I do not think it matters one bit how loud your music might be playing.  If you are feeling sleepy and the loud music keeps you awake, I say by all means, turn it up.  Of course the safer thing to do is to probably pull off the road and get some sleep instead.

Have your music as loud as you want at night, on the highway

Now in a situation where you find yourself sitting in traffic I think it is only common courtesy to your fellow drivers to listen to your music at a reasonable volume.  Slow moving traffic means that the people in the cars around you will be stuck listening to your car rumble and shake and will likely feel their own car rumble and shake if your stereo is loud enough.  Traffic makes us cranky enough as it is.  The last thing I want is to be subjected to someone else’s bad music at high volumes.

Another time where you might want to watch the volume of your car stereo is when it is parked in front of your house.  It is not uncommon for people to do a little work on their car at home.  This could be anything from changing the oil to simply waxing the paint.  These jobs are not exactly fun and exciting so many people like to listen to their car stereo while doing them.  Keep in mind that if you turn up the volume all of your neighbours will likely hear it as well.  This can cause friction and is probably a scenario you want to avoid.  If you really want to listen to music in this type of situation, try using a digital music player with headphones. Then you can listen at the volume you want to.  By chance if you live out in the country and nobody is around to hear the music, have fun and crank up the volume.

Hey, keep that Kate Perry to yourself!!

People that drive convertibles or cars with sunroofs will need to monitor their stereo volume more than others.  This is because of the obvious fact that more sound will escape their car, which means other people will be able to hear the music. This can be tough because sunroofs and convertibles can create additional wind noise in the car which might make the music harder to hear.

Listening to the radio loud when you are driving is one thing but when you pull into a housing development you might want to turn down the volume of your car stereo so you do not disturb every house that you drive past.  This is especially true if you find yourself driving at night.  Nobody wants to be awakened from a sound sleep because of blasting music driving past their house.
Some of the noise can be blamed on the record companies themselves.

This'll wake you - no matter whatever you did the night before!

Today many albums are actually designed to sound much louder than they did a couple of decades ago.  Try setting your volume at a reasonable level and take an old Beatles album and listen to it for a while.  Then take a newer CD from an artist like Oasis and listen to that one for a while.  You will likely be able to hear the volume increase quite a bit even though you did not turn up the volume at all.  Many people have begun to protest against record companies for creating the loud effect that many of us can’t stand.

As technology advances and improves, the stereos and speakers that are in our cars have followed suit.  This means that car stereos are louder than they probably ever have been before.  The result is that the extra noise is being condemned as a nuisance in many areas.  Police are even beginning to crack down on the offenders.

More modern speakers can kick out some serious noise

How does a police officer determine if your car stereo is too loud though?  Do they keep decibel gauges in their cars to measure the amount of sound that is coming from your vehicle?  In several places the general method to determine if your car stereo is too loud is simply an estimate.  The police officer stands approximately 50 feet from your car and if he or she can clearly hear your stereo it is considered to be a noise offense and a ticket will likely follow.  Many areas are putting hefty fines on this type of offense as well.

So you can't have music that talks about natural gas?

So depending on the situation, too loud might not really be that loud at all.  In other scenarios I would say it is perfectly acceptable to turn up your car stereo as loud as you would like.  The number one thing that everybody should consider is the people that are around you.  If you know that people are going to be unhappy to hear your music blasting, be considerate and keep the volume at a reasonable level.  After all, you probably don’t want to hear anybody else’s music blasting either.