Following their visit to the House of Commons to be presented with the Highly Commended John Connell Award, the Environmental Protection Team at Huntingdonshire District Council, in association with the Noise Abatement Society, organised a free presentation on broad band sound reversing alarms to local and national businesses.
During the council’s Noise Action Week Campaign in May the names of all the businesses who expressed an interest to attend had their names put into a ‘hat’ at the offices of the Noise Abatement Society. They drew out local Sawtry-based business Butler Piano Movers to win a fitted bbs-tek broad band reversing alarm.
Hinchingbrooke Country Park was the venue for the presentation. As well as the winners, representatives from national company Morrisons, the Freight Transport Association, Dublin Institute of Technology, and locally-based VIP Polymers were among companies represented.
Steve Butler Managing Director of Butler Piano Movers said “We were pleased to be presented with the broadband sound reversing alarm by the Noise Abatement Society and Brigade Electronics.
“Following the demonstration I can fully appreciate the practical function of this equipment. It was amazing to find that, whilst the alarm is much quieter than conventional reversing alarms, as soon as it is switched on you can immediately locate the precise direction the noise is coming from.
I can see this modern piece of equipment playing a major part in road safety as well as reducing noise pollution.”
Unlike conventional single tone alarms, the bbs-tek alarm uses a pleasant multi-frequency (or broadband) sound instead of the single frequency sound of other reversing alarms. Broadband sound has the unique characteristic of its source being instantly locatable. This enables people in the ‘danger zone’ to pinpoint exactly where the sound is coming from which is extremely beneficial in busy locations, such as loading bays and lorry parks, where there may be confusion over which vehicle is reversing.
Noise pollution and complaints are dramatically reduced because the broadband sound, with its unique shh… shh… shh…, is gentle on the ear and the sound dissipates over a very much shorter distance than a conventional alarm. The non-strident sound is equally effective at 5dB(A) lower than conventional reversing
Gloria Elliott from the Noise Abatement Society said: “One of the largest sources of bitter complaint that the Noise Abatement Society receives from the general public is the irritating disturbance caused by the piercing invasive, 24 / 7 noise of reversing alarms currently fitted as standard on commercial delivery vans, dustbin lorries and other service vehicles. Everybody is affected by this noise but reluctantly accepts it as part of the cacophony of urban street life that we are forced to put up with as part of the price of progress.
The Noise Abatement Society first heard the effect of broad band sound at the Tarmac Quarry site at Arundel, East Sussex. Thousands of lorry movements occur there every day and the constant shrill beeps of reversing alarms reverberated across the site to neighbouring villages causing massive complaints. Even the staff in the site office, worked under sufferance, having to keep the windows always shut because of the noise.
Broad band reversing alarms were fitted to all site vehicles, and abruptly, all neighbour complaints stopped.
Members of staff were content and even the sceptical lorry drivers were delighted with the new found quiet in their cabs and really appreciated the added bonus of increased reversal safety.
As a problem-solving charity the Noise Abatement Society found this to be a Eureka moment.
A new idea normally takes years to be accepted but the NAS felt that the public should not have to wait so long for this effective noise abating measure to be put in place, so the ‘Quietening the Streets’ scheme was devised whereby the Noise Abatement Society sponsors the fitting and trialling of one broad band reversing alarm per Council so that the huge benefits of this technology may be experienced first hand and swiftly adopted, bringing relief both to residents and to workers who have to endure these shrill unnecessary noises all day long.
The scheme has already been extremely successful. The Greater London Authority and Doncaster City Council have fitted broad band reversing alarms on all their vehicles with other councils currently in the process of assessment.
Huntingdonshire District Council are trialling a broad band alarm on their 24/7 close-circuit television vehicle which patrols the streets at night, protecting members of the public without waking them up.
Congratulations go to Butlers Piano Removals who won the prize during Noise Action Week for a free broad band fitting choosing to be a good citizen and deliver quietly.”
Councillor Mike Simpson, deputy leader of Huntingdonshire District Council, attended the demonstration and was impressed by the effectiveness of the broadband alarm. “It is quite clear that this technology can contribute to traffic safety and help reduce environmental noise, when correctly fitted, to road vehicles.”