Do you guys straighten out the machine, when backing up. I have problems backing up when the machine is fully articulated or close to it. I wouldn't call myself an expert grader operator by any means. I just know the basic fundamentals, But I love operating them.
Practice and time and patience is all it takes . For doing certain jobs, say laying out material for a road in a new subdivision , I spend just as much time reversing as I do going forward . In many cases , I can't back out without articulating around water valves or manholes ... or TRUCKS .... lol . So I'm used to steering the back end with the articulation lever . It can get a bit wierd sometimes when you're all crabbed out and you've got the steering wheel turning this way and the back end doing the opposite , all the while picking up speed and gears going backwards , lol , but you get the hang of it after a while .
Also , as Deas Plant mentioned , if I'm in really soft or deep mud ( not much sand around us Deas ) , if I get bogged down going forward , I can usually just throw it in reverse and using the articulation I can wither myself free . If I 'm REALLY bogged , I also use the blade to back paddle myself free ( also using the articulation ) . With this method you can usually get yourself out of most situations . And if you're really , really bogged down .... well , that's getting way more off topic then neccesary , lol .
Digger242j :as Grader4Me mentioned , the back up alarms are located behind the machine , but it's loud enough to hear even 100' in front of the machine . Because our graders are usually working in areas with high densities of people and trucks and other equipment , they've got the beepers set to the loudest settings . That particular accident happened mostly because the guy on the ground got complacent and was probably thinking about something other then what was happening at the moment , and the grader operator was trying harder then he should have ( highballing ) and wasn't in full control of what was happening around him , ie. lack of experience . It really only took two small errors at total of ten seconds to turn ugly . Almost a blick of a eye really .
Could this accident been avoided had the operator not articulated ? Probably . BUT , not articulating is not a option for this particular situation . You just gotta get used to doing it and getting comfortable with it .