Disconnect backup alarm on a home situation?

[emmett518]

My Deere 310 has a backup alarm. I've given some thought to adding a switch to disconnect it. The noise carries far, and I don't want to **** off the neighbors, especially if I am plowing snow at night or early in the AM. There isn't anyone around when I work, as it's my home, and not a constructions site, so it's probably not necessary. Even so, I think I would be liable if someone got hurt and the alarm was off.

Maybe the answer is to research Massachusetts law to see what's required.

 

[Cmark]

Fundamentally, you need to consider what you're trying to avoid. Is it;
Breaking the law?
Annoying the neighbours?
Hurting someone?

Presumably you are a reasonable person and that your ultimate goal is to avoid anyone getting hurt. If you make your best efforts to make this happen, and document it, I would think that you would have a pretty good defence if someone got run over by your backhoe.

Google hierarchy of controls.

 

[skyking1]

I don't poop in my own neighborhood. No early or late noisemaking and that would include the diesel engine. Disconnecting the alarm is not a good idea.

 

[repowerguy]

If there’s no one around, like you say, then let it beep. I’ve helped out my neighbors enough that no one would complain anyhow.
My 310 has a Back-Alarm bell on it so disconnecting it is a no go. I think the old gongs were the best anyway because you could tell how fast the machine is coming at you by the ding speed.

 

[kshansen]

Surprisingly at the quarry management somehow got the MSHA inspectors to allow the loader that fed the Hot Mix plant to be equipped with a strobe light for the times it was used before or after sunset.

Also the couple times we had to run crushing plant 24 hours a day for a Interstate Highway repave job those machines were fitted with the strobes for night time use.

The quarry is not in a heavily populated area but there are 25 or so houses within a one mile radius of the quarry.

Just remembered there used to be back-up alarms with noise sensors that would automatically adjust for background noise. They did make noise but at least not as bad as the max powered ones!

 

[emmett518]

Curious why cab Kubotas don’t have backup alarms? Is it the difference between home machines and commercial, out-in-public machines?

 

[DMiller]

Everything around here has BU Alarms of some type including Commercial Trucks. Insurers would not take kindly to a bypass switch install if ever found out.

 

[skyking1]

yes ,if it is built to go on a job it will have a travel alarm.

 

[John C.]

Excavators were never required to have travel alarms in Washington State.

 

[emmett518]

https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1980-07-11

It seems that an alarm is required when there is an obstructed view behind a piece of equipment. I’m guessing that the backhoe arm creates the obstruction, necessitating the alarm.

 

[John C.]

A loader backhoe is not an excavator. I'm not saying that an excavator shouldn't have a travel alarm. I am saying there there is no regulation in Washington State the requires one to be in installed and working in an excavator.

 

[emmett518]

A loader backhoe is not an excavator. I'm not saying that an excavator shouldn't have a travel alarm. I am saying there there is no regulation in Washington State the requires one to be in installed and working in an excavator.

understand.

 

[skyking1]

I about ran a guy down with a curved boom backhoe, the whole time I am turned around in my seat looking back and as I turned and backed he tried to get out of my way and managed to stay behind the damn boom from me. That was scary.

 

[old-iron-habit]

The sad part is that most inexperienced people whom get in the danger zone and are maimed or killed did not pay any attention to the back up alarms. Perhaps they hear so many that they are deaf to them. On our skid steers they do not go off unless both levers are in the reverse position.

 

[kshansen]

The sad part is that most inexperienced people whom get in the danger zone and are maimed or killed did not pay any attention to the back up alarms. Perhaps they hear so many that they are deaf to them. On our skid steers they do not go off unless both levers are in the reverse position.

Agree on the inexperienced people being the problem the majority of the time. If I was training a new person on things at the quarry I made it a major point to tell them if they did not have a clear view of operator's face the operator could not see them!

Also if I knew or thought there was someone in the area while I was operating but I could not see them clearly I would stop everything even to the point of shutting machine off until I could assure that the area was clear!

 

[AzIron]

I have had switches on backup alarms wont do it anymore let them beep

Not sure alarms are as idiot proof as the idea intended but I for one would still leave it alone for liability reasons alone cause when an if you hit a public street of any kind and anything goes on your equipment was not in proper working order as the manufacturer intended it to be

I do believe reducing the voltage would make it quieter if your not on a job site of any kind even the neighbors house then there is no requirement from osha for a minimum decibel requirement

 

[skyking1]

I fill out a check sheet each day at work, and initial that the backup alarm on my truck and excavator works. It's one of those things I won't take a chance on.

 

[heymccall]

On all my "take-home" trucks, I use a white noise backup alarm. The white noise doesn't penetrate structures like a conventional back up alarm.

 

[hosspuller]

Heymccall has the best idea for the BU alarm... This video demo's a directional BU alarm. IMHO the best solution... Skip to 1:25 to miss the Verbosity
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=white+noise+backup+alarm&&view=detail&mid=F4D49FB5A042EDFAC7B1F4D49FB5A042EDFAC7B1&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=/videos/search?q=white%20noise%20backup%20alarm&&FORM=VDVVXX

 

[hosspuller]

Researching this some more, turned up a factoid... A person can locate the source of a "white noise" but a pure tone is hard to locate.

Says this video https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...search?q=White+Sound+Backup+Alarm&FORM=VRMHRS