Drivers who thunder down the road with their car stereos blaring aren't going to get any more breaks from Dallas police.

The department announced Monday that it soon will shift from giving warnings to first-time noise polluters to simply taking out the ticket book and writing a citation that could run as high as $2,000.

Whether the noise is coming from a car, a home, an apartment or a business, officers already are empowered to write a ticket the first time they get a complaint about a noise violation.

But 99 percent of the time, police have been willing to let people off with a warning, officials said.

That's going to change once top police brass discuss the policy shift with rank-and-file officers and resident groups.

Officers on the street will decide whether a noise is a disturbance to others and a violation of the city's noise ordinance, Deputy Police Chief Jan Easterling told the City Council's Public Safety Commission on Monday.

The commission wholeheartedly endorsed the shift, calling the issue a growing concern for the quality of life in Dallas.

Rudolph Bush