Why Ice Cream Trucks Are Sometimes Banned In Cities

No matter if you're a school-aged child playing in the backyard on a summer day or an older retiree spending their warm afternoon on the porch, the jingle of an ice cream truck is likely one of the most recognizable and joy-inducing sounds to reach your ears. However, the nostalgic tune has turned into a topic of controversy, as many cities across the United States are opting to ban — or add specific and harsher guidelines to — the use of the classic ice cream truck.

A multitude of metropolises have cracked down on the vehicles, specifically catering to complaints directed to the Board of Health about their loud songs and potential danger to children. While the sound of an ice cream truck making its way down the street may be a positive experience for many on a sunny summer afternoon, a number of residents have said that the trucks are out far too late and on streets with cars that are driving at life-threatening speeds to the children trying to buy an icy snack.

Many times, the ice cream trucks themselves are not banned outright. Instead, many cities "ban" them after a certain time in the afternoon by setting a specific deadline of when they need to be off the road. Families of Lynn, Massachusetts were delighted to have more hours of uninterrupted sleep after the Board of Health banned ice cream trucks from roaming the streets after 8 p.m. This rule didn't come out of nowhere, since residents had been complaining about the noise. The new ban was met with mixed reactions from locals, with some claiming that it was either too strict or too early. Unfortunately, a craving for a nostalgic fudge pop may force Massachusettsans to learn how to make the creamy treat from the comfort of their own home.

Deer Park, Texas also upheld their 1980 ban on ice cream trucks because of the sleep schedules of chemical plant workers with nocturnal sleep schedules. According KHOU, a Deer Park spokeswoman stated that the ban had "prohibited the use of 'loud noises' or 'sound amplifying' devices by solicitors, effectively preventing the normal operation of ice cream trucks." The residents of Deer Park have had far less complaints about the ban compared to those of Lynn, since the Texas ban has yet to be challenged.

The city of Aurora, Colorado, had its hand in banning ice cream trucks in 1957, not just for their noise, but also the possibility of hurting a child that might be running in the road. Accidents have occurred over the years, including in September 2024, when a two-year-old was struck by a car while stopped at an ice cream truck in Linden, New Jersey. Aurora spokespeople Ryan Luby and Michael Brannen noted to The Sentinel that the original bill stated that giving "immature" children a reason to run into traffic was far too dangerous to outweigh the positives of a sugary treat.

Ice cream truck driver Jim Cremeens believes that a similar accident may have been the cause of a ban in Elgin, Illinois that was lifted in 2018. Although it was never confirmed, he told WBEZ Chicago's Tony Sarabia that, in 1973, "it sounds like ... either a child got struck by an ice cream truck or a child got struck by a car running to an ice cream truck, which is probably the case because we stress safety. It had just [gone] unchallenged for about 45 years."