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Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Why do vehicles like trucks and construction equipment beep when backing up?

They make the most annoying beeping noise, almost like an alarm clock going off. I work in a permanent construction zone and all I hear is this annoying beep. Just being an occasional passerby I am still annoyed by it, albeit desensitized at this point.

I can only imagine how annoying the drivers of these vehicles. You might then say that they get used to it and are desensitized. But wouldn't that defeat the whole point of the noise? I mean think about it, the whole point of the noise is so that if you are behind it you hear it and don't get run over. But if you are behind this vehicle then obviously you work in construction or around trucks and are used to ALWAYS hearing this noise, so its not alerting you to anything its just a background noise.

My problem is that you know you are going to be backing up a million times in a row to do your project so just disable the noise. If a person is going to stand behind a bulldozer when its being operated then they deserve to be flattened.

riarcher · Member

Idea is to tell stupid people to get the F#$* out of the way 'caise I aint lookin!

Like a "Warning Shot" before the "Splat". (Federal law for safety of ignorants)

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

I think that beep is much like speed bumps and safety switches on guns. Unecessary.[/quote]

AirGunEric · Site Admin

They are apparently useful. In the days before trucks had such things, apparently quite the number of people, most particularly in larger cities- would learn to ignore engine noises and such as part of their daily lives, and would often be standing right in the path of a backing-up truck and not notice. It seems that annoying 'beep beep beep beep..." is just annoying enough it's virtually impossible to ignore when it's right in front (behind) you.

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

It's more than "just annoying enough", and that's the problem.

broommaster2000 · Moderator

I doubt chaining yourself to the road would help to stop them producing that sound. Razz

Anyway, it might be so that the sound causes trauma to the brain, and the miracle of evolution will turn it so, that people will stay the hell away from trucks. Mr. Green

]

Trucks over here are equipped with camera's these days. It's not yet a rule, but knowing our government they'll sooner or later get to that. Rolling Eyes

Alstone · Moderator & Site Supporter

Over here trucks speak to you saying "Warning this vehical is reversing", on some you can record you own message "Get out of the way dickhead" would be handy. Smile

billandbeaufort · Senior Member

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

My ex-wife got so big after our divorce... CPS made her use one when she backs up so her kids would get out of the way...

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

BTW... According to Bill Engval standards... You need to wear "The Sign" so... Here's your sign...

Speaking of "Stupid" Signs.

That hurts... Kinda' like peeing on the elctric cattle fence....

Laughing

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

billandbeaufort · Senior Member

Rog, They collect the soil samples to see how much compacting has been done. They think it's important when building a hydro-electric dam! A D-9 is the most well known Catapillar Bulldozer (it's pretty big!) A goat's foot roller is a huge in this case roller with what looks like pegs, say 3 inch by 12 inch sticking out all over it to compact soil even better than a plain roller would.(the pegs look like goats feet) Many workers were run over by equipment backing up before the alarms. It's hard to immagine but people around heavy equipment get used to the noise and ground shaking! It's easy to get lost in your work while an operator that can't see you squashes you! So we are real sorry about it annoying you but since it saves our lives and since the infrastructure we are building is for you and because we blue collar rednecks just don't give a sh!t whether you get annoyed, we will continue to beep beep beep. Smile

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

Hey Rog... It's simple... MOVE or use ear plugs...

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Ha ha ha ha. I just now got reminded of another thing I hate, which incidentally, is an annoying "beep beep beep" noise.

I was taking an afternoon nap and was awoke by a car alarm. It would stop for 5 seconds between cycles but it kept going off. Curious (and pissed off), I walked outside to see who the a-hole was that was letting their car alarm go off. *Note* You never check to see whose car is being broken into or vandalized as car alarms never seem to work for "that" purpose, rather, they only serve to annoy the general public and demonstrate the incompetence of the owner of the vehicle.

Well, sure enough, the car was in MY driveway. My retarded roomate's girlfriend left her car in my driveway while they went away for the weekend. My neighbor next door was having a party so something over there must have triggered the alarm. Whatever they did, I'm sure they now regret it. That alarm is VERY loud, and I had no way of shutting it off. It turned off five minutes later, but strike up another victory for the frivolity of car alarms.

Slavia · Moderator

At work we have robot forklifts. They have a different "beep" melody for each activity - running, turning, lifting, starting, and meltdown.

After two years of listening to this, I don't think I consciously listen any more, but I am aware of them subconsciously. For example, I just know when a pallet has left my machine, without looking (because I subconsciously heard the lift/start melodies). So there is probably some safety value, even if it seems that they've just blended into the background.