In the "Beep Beep" thread below, good ol' Henners got it right (as usual) when he said that manufacturers had stopped fitting audible warning devices because of complaints. In the late seventies, the manufacturer I worked for (and later retailed) retro-removed all the bleepers after complaints from (I think) the RNIB that people with challenged eyesight could step out in front of moving machines, thinking they were Pelican or Zebra crossings signalling "Cross Now".
It's potentially the same problem today.....but multiplied by the even greater number of controlled crossings and with the added problem of bikes being mistaken for reversing trucks! It gets worse when you consider that you have to get the bleeper going pretty loud to penetrate a full face helmet and earplugs...in my day we had a pudding basin and white scarf so a light "chirrup" was OK!
On behalf of blind people, please make your "reminder" warning system visual, not audible.
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