A sound truck is a vehicle equipped with loudspeakers, typically used to play loud political or commercial messages, but are also used in evacuations. The use of sound trucks for advertising is illegal in many jurisdictions. It is legal in Portugal and usually used during election campains by political parties. It is also legal in Japan. For the legal situation in the United States see Kovacs v. Cooper, 336 U.S. 77 (1949). In Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, the level of the sound cannot exceed 65 decibels.[1]