Unjustifiable

Unjustifiable:

Why does anyone need to know that someone one mile away, or even 1/10 of a mile away, is backing their vehicle.

(A windy day can somewhat dampen the noise heard by someone a half mile or more from the source, especially if the wind is blowing towards the source. But the vast majority of days are not windy enough to appreciably do so.)

Furthermore, backup beepers are not required by OSHA. Broadband white noise devices have been adopted in other cities as replacements for backup beepers. Their sound travels only as far as is meaningful. See links further down.

Do your own research on the Internet. You will not find one_single_person advocating for backup beepers. All who write about backup beepers are strongly opposed to them.

   Target's yard is fenced, gated and guarded.

   There is no unsuspecting public strolling
   through the Target yard.

The employee parking area is separate from the yard where trucks back up. No trucks back up in the employee parking lot.

For all practical purposes, Target Distribution Center has no foot traffic in their yard.

Technically, there can be rare and brief foot traffic in the Target yard in the form of a driver who briefly exits his truck.

The drivers know precisely what is going on and never walk with their eyes closed. And in any case, a backing alarm of some sort would be employed.

See: IRSST Reverse alarms video

See: Brigade Reversing & White Sound Alarms

Again, OSHA specifically does not require backup beepers. OSHA in fact allows the use of other devices, as described above.

If a Target representative were to tell you that the beepers are also engaged to prevent trucks from backing into each other, then you should understand that drivers actually look in their mirrors. If the drivers of the yard trucks can't watch for other trucks by using their mirrors, then they are not fit for their jobs. And if there ever was a truck collision..

.. it would mean nothing more than a dented fender.

"Safety first" is meaningless without understanding context.

In fact, Target allows private trucking ccompanies to operate their 18-wheeler semi-trailer trucks in their yard with no backup alarm of any sort. I have video of it. See the video page.

Incorporating beepers is idiotic and selfish. Management seems to live in fear that some idiot with zero sense of personal responsibility will sue them if the very loudest alarm devices aren't deployed. It is cowardly of Target to let irresponsible idiots dictate policy.

In fact, no-one could win a lawsuit against Target if the Brigade white noise backing alarms were incorporated. Those backing alarms are every bit as effective as beepers and fully satisfy OSHA requirements.

And consider this: Do people sue governments for not doing more to protect them from traffic fatalities? 43,000 people die in traffic accidents every year in the United States. That's 118 per day. It's called risk management. People choose to drive and bike, knowing that there is some measure of risk.

By contrast, if I were to exit my truck in the Target yard, I know that nobody could run me down if they tried, even without any backing alarm. I would be much safer in the Target yard with no backing alarm of any sort than out on the streets. And again -- an effective backing alarm would in fact still be in use.