Brad Ideas - Can we stop the loud-beep on backing up? - Comments

Developing the sweet spot

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:50:56 -0700

Well, your position is simple and runs with the crowd but it's dangerous. I agree, life has become too complicated and, yes, people do find ways around that. The problem is, that opens the door for both useful people and knaves. The Tao comments that when government's legislate too much the people become clever, and that in times of chaos feudal lords arise. Steve Richards offers a more conversational comment on that in today's Independent.

My take on British politics is that the years of asset stripping and consumerism under Thatcher and Blair are a bubble that's bursting, and that taking on the power of big companies and helping society glue itself back together in a long-term context are what's required. The Brown government has to focus more on self-confidence, while the Tory's have their leafy-suburb selfishness deep-cleaned, and the Liberal's fantasy politics becomes more grounded. Gordon Brown is THE MAN, and people in all parties just have to get used to that.

The American's do confidence better than the British, and Japan does teamwork better than the British. The problem is the British are deluded and confuse contrariness with confidence, and insularity with teamwork. Speak to any economist and they will agree Britain's economic fundamentals are broken, and that's why. Gordon Brown favours self-confidence and a glued together society, and the long-view. By developing this in small steps Britain should turn around. Any short-term turbulence is just noise.

Developing happiness, contentment, and patience helps grow the sweet spot.

Calming Down

Tom — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:19:30 -0700

It's interesting that you would mention electrical work.... I do a lot of DIY work but there are some things I don't do myself, like electrical work beyond simple wiring, gas lines, etc. But it seems that the pro's I hire are already sidestepping the myriad regulations because they're just too ridiculous to keep up with. I've heard the phrase "It's not code but...." more than a few times. So maybe we're already on the downward slope toward anarchy. One can only hope.

I appreciate what you're saying, but I think staying calm will just let the situation continue and get worse. Without some level of outrage nothing will change. After all, didn't the French stay calm when the Germans marched into Paris?????

I think the problem is that our legislatures have too much time to think up things to do. They sit in their ivory towers and decide what's best for the masses who are too stupid to run their own lives. The problem is, we are able to run our own lives. But government is just getting too fat so we aren't allowed to do it anymore.

What goes around comes around

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:49:11 -0700

In Britain, the laws for electrical work in the home changed so it's almost impossible to do anything more than fit a lightbulb or fit a plug without calling for a qualified electrician. The government 'idiot proofed' the law because so many people had got caught up in the DIY boom and Darwin Awarded themselves. I think, the general rise in 'stupidity' is down to too much competition. It creates a huge amount of stress that fills peoples minds with junk, and this gets in the way of paying attention. Now, I don't entirely blame the government for this. Business and public have a responsibility. Less arrogance and greed in business, and taking the time to learn something and not leap on every fashion bandwagon that comes along would help. Bottom line? Everyone just needs to calm down a bit.

Our Aristocratic Government

Tom — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 06:31:04 -0700

I also agree with Brad. I live in a nice little village in Massachusetts with a landscaping lot nearby. It's a lovely, pristine, sleepy little area but some days I hear the beeps all day long. And as Brad mentioned, those beeps travel far and wide. It's a shame.

I am 43. Somehow I survived growing up without reverse lights on trucks. I know of not one single person who has been rundown by a truck in reverse. If people are too stupid to hear a truck engine and not pay attention, well, perhaps they should be run down. And if you are a parent and allow your child to be subjected to that kind of "danger", then perhaps you should have your children taken away.

This world has started catering to the lowest common denominator. If one kid is killed by some freak accident (carbon monoxide poisoning, trucks backing up, bike accident, etc) then the rest of us are FORCED to deal with it.

Whatever happened to natural selection? Whatever happened to personal accountability for one's own safety and the safety of their family? Whatever happened to the freedom to live our lives as we see fit?

What's next? Legislation requiring Kevlar body condoms 24 hours a day? We DON'T need the fat government protecting us. That is OUR responsibility.

The good thing is, pretty soon our aristocratic government will create SO many laws and regulations that they will be impossible to track, follow and enforce. Then perhaps we can start over from scratch.

Some countries don't have the BEEP

mendel — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:33:22 -0800

It would do your cause well to research accident statistics from countries that have never seen the need for BEEP legislation, e.g. Germany. I've been trying to find out which countries do have BEEP legislation, but English wikipedia articles on Automobile Safety and Traffic Safety don't even mention this.

Localize beep with two ultrasound sources

Jamey — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 07:54:44 -0800

That beeping is extremely annoying and easily fixed. There is a type of speaker system that has extremely directional sound. It involves combining two ultrasound sources that interfere to create an audible sound. The point is, ultrasound is extremely directional and using this type of speaker setup, only someone behind the equipment in a certain area would hear the reverse alarm at any noticeable volume. I saw this type of speaker setup in a magazine a few years ago, and they were saying that malls would start using it for advertising, and people might use it in home theaters so they can have them louder without disturbing anyone.

I agree with Brad. The

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 09:01:15 -0700

I agree with Brad. The moral issue is are we as a society going to continue to disregard humanity? It is inhumane for responsible members of society to be subjected to this torturous noise pollution. Seriously, if it werent for the beep, the project sites would be bearable. The issue like aforementioned is to find a less piercing torturous sound. However, since a bunch of idiots run things in this country, and we have to go through them to try and get things done, nothing will come of this. We will just have to simply snip the connecting wires on the beepers!!!

broad band sound

Neilv — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:26:31 -0700

Well you are all in luck , i work for a UK company that produces broad band reversing alarms for vehicles, which aim to replace the annoying beep beep sounds everyone hates so much, not only does it reduce the noice pollution its more directional so its easier to identify where the sound is coming from.

www.brigade-electronics.com

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP 5am- EVERYDAY ALL DAY

ATLANTIC — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:49:24 -0700

A CONSTRUCTION SITE HAS OPENED NEXT TO MY RESIDENCE, AND AT ANY GIVEN TIME THERE CAN BE 5 TRUCKS BEEPING AT 1 TIME.
IT'S LIKE HAVING ALARM CLOCKS NEAR YOUR HEAD THAT YOU CANT TURN OFF
THE CONSTRUCTION STARTS AT 5 AM AND WAKES ME UP OUT OF A DEAD SLEEP. I PUT EARPLUGS IN MY EARS AND THE BEEP STILL PIERCES THROUGH.

ID LIKE TO TAKE THE PERSON WHO INVENTED THIS LOVELY FEATURE AND PUT THEM IN A ROOM WITH WITH 50 BEEPERS FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.

AS FAR AS SAVING LIVES, WELL, I'M SURE THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE IT DISTURBES OUTWEIGHS THE ADVANTAGES.

THE PROBLEM IS NO ONE HAS MADE THE BEEP SOUND FRINDLY.
IT'S LIKE THE TELEPHONE WHEN IT FIRST WAS INVENTED, THE RING WAS LOUD AND OBNOXIOUS.

I'M LISTENING TO THE BEEPS RIGHT NOW, SO IF I SOUND ANGRY , WELL I AM!!!

OH AND GOD BLESS THE HAMMERJACK

The maddness with these

Jason — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 02:53:47 -0700

The maddness with these beepers must stop! They must be rounded up and burned, every last one of them.
NYC is way to much when it comes to this high pitched nusance. Day in and day out that is all i hear every hour
of almost every day. The only break that seems to come is on sunday. Write your congressmen and senators.
The backup beeper must be erraticated!

The Beep Must Go

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 13:07:50 -0700

I agree. There is a hot spot in hell waiting for the "well meaning" legislature that came up with the back up beep. It's a classic example of solving a problem with a much worse one.

This IS a SERIOUS problem if you've ever lived next to it.

Beeped Out — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 10:29:12 -0800

No problem eh? Get a life, you say? What are some of you folks, lobbyists for the beeper industry? Just wait until somebody builds a monstrous ugly building right next door to you, where they start every morning at 7am (and sometimes earlier), the beeping goes on for two straight years, and the general contractor won't even return your phone calls to tell you when it will be finished. Close the windows you say? Yeah, right. The beeps are cranked up so high they go right through walls. I can hear them in my shower. These beeps are designed to do exactly this... cut through everything, including hearing protectors. And even if the windows did cut the noise more than 12 decibels (which they don't at close range) who wants to live all summer in an apartment where you can't even open the windows for fresh air? Construction sites are enduring fixtures. We are not talking about hearing a garbage truck once a week.

Furthermore, as the machines do their thing all day, the beeping patterns basically stop and start at random, which makes them especially headache-inducing. Incidentally, annoying loud noise produced at unpredictable intervals is a classic form of torture, dating back thousands of years. It's a standard way of softening up prisoners for interrogation. The effects of noise like this should not be underestimated. The stress of this adds up. Believe me.

So don't say it's overly sensitive to even suggest this to the point of personal insult, not until you've have it shoved down your own ears ad nauseam. The guy is not a bleeding heart. The guy has a point.

Yes, the Beeping Must Go !

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 05:19:52 -0800

I agree; this is a huge source of noise pollution, and very annoying. I wonder how the construction workers tolerate it. Maybe they just learn to block it, which sort of defeats the purpose. There's got to be a better way of addressing safety concerns.

Since moving into our house a year ago, a new subdivision went in down the street, then the next door neighbor decided to teach himself how to use a back-hoe in his yard (8 AM New Years Day, no less!), and now, as I type this, the developers down the street have figured out how to squeeze one more house into that sub, so the heavy equipment is back, backing and filling, backing and filling... I can't hear the engines, or pounding, or other work-site sounds -- but the beeping carries for miles through the frosty New England morning air...

Glad to hear the Brits are looking at alternatives; maybe our American legislators will take notice (we can hope...)

Yes, this is a big problem

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 11:34:14 -0800

Maybe I have sensitive hearing, but this is a big problem for me going back over 20 years.
Right now, there is a construction project going on 2000 feet from my apartment, and I can hear the beeping right through my closed windows with the blinds or curtain drawn, depending on which window.
When I am visiting my parents in New York City, I can hear the beeping noise as trucks back up some 4 blocks away. I've looked out the window and scanned for the source of the noise, and that's what I've found.

As an attorney, the way I would approach this is that I would try to generate a campaign and get the attention of a governor or attorney general. Such a person could get political capital out of resolving this situation.

A governor might indicate that s/he wants to hand out engineering grants so bright engineering minds can come up with alternative solutions.

An attorney general would probably file a public nuissance lawsuit, and then try to negotiate a settlement whereby industry agrees to put some bright minds on this, and then when a solution is found, to build it into new vehicles and machinery, and to retrofit the existing stock by a particular date.

I just wrote a letter to the attorney general of Virginia and I'll write another to the governor.

Brad- contact me if you want to cooperate on this.

I, too, detest those beeping

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 07:01:29 -0700

I, too, detest those beeping vehicles. How does any work get done if the trucks are in reverse all the time? I grit my teeth day in and day out. I not only live adjacent to a construction site, but also to a huge building with a loading dock that takes deliveries all day long. So even when the construction is done, I will still be tormented. What can be done about it?

Can we stop the loud-beep on backing up?

brad — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 11:52:21 -0700

One of the scourages of urban areas is the requirement (I presume) that heavy equipment make a loud beeping noise when it’s backing up. It’s meant to warn anybody standing behind the vehicle, presumably because the driver doesn’t have the same field of vision to see you, and because people are more wary of standing in front of a moving vehicle than behind it.

As such, as we all know, the sound is really piercing. And more to the point, it travels, often for miles. It’s a major noise pollution anywhere near any work site. I presume part of the problem as well is workers wearing hearing protection need it even louder.

So my challege is, can we do a better job? Can we make an attention getting sound that is more directional (aimed backwards, and perhaps down from the top of the vehicle) so it won’t travel as far or distract people not behind the machine?

Can we standardize rear-view cameras, which are so cheap now, so that the operator’s view of what’s behind is top notch?

Can we combine a quieter sound with really bright, moving lights, the kind you would see on the ground if your back were to the beeping machine? Could we blow air with high pressure streams or those long-distance vortexes like the AirZooka makes, or would this be too much of a problem with dust (or in wind?)

Can we have object detectors that spot objects in to the rear of the machine and make the beeps louder when there is something? (Admittedly they are going to go off for a wall or wheelbarrow as much as a guy, and they have to be really reliable because people would start depending on them to know how much caution to use.) Perhaps they can detect that everything they have seen has left the area and reduce the beeping, because if there is one person behind the truck, that assures you somebody is watching and will move anybody who doesn’t see the lights or hear the beeping.

I solicit other ideas to safely warn people about moving equipment that don’t ruin the peace.