SB 312: Audible Reverse Warning Systems; Broadband Sound; Exemptions; Report

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO AUDIBLE VEHICLE REVERSE WARNING SYSTEMS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  Chapter 291, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part II to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§291-     Audible reverse warning systems.  (a)  No state- or county-owned vehicle purchased on or after January 1, 2028, shall use an audible reverse warning system that emits a warning sound other than one using broadband technology.

     (b)  The director of transportation may grant exemptions to this section for a state or county-owned agency that has demonstrated a good faith effort, to be determined by the director of transportation, to implement a broadband warning system but cannot due to unavailability.

     (c)  The director of transportation shall maintain a continuously updated record of all exemptions granted under subsection (b)  The record of exemptions granted shall be made publicly accessible and updated on a biannual basis.  Reports detailing exemptions granted shall be submitted to the legislature thirty days prior to the convening of each regular session and sixty days after adjournment sine die of each regular session.

     (d)  For the purposes of this section, "vehicle" includes earthmoving and compacting equipment such as scrapers, loaders, crawler or wheel tractors, bulldozers, off-highway trucks, graders, agricultural and industrial tractors, and similar equipment."

     SECTION 2.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

Report Title:

Audible Reverse Warning Systems; Broadband Sound; Exemptions; Report

Description:

Prohibits a state- or county-owned vehicle purchased on or after 1/1/2028, from using an audible reverse warning system that emits a warning sound other than one using broadband technology.  Authorizes the Director of Transportation to grant exemptions under certain circumstances.  Requires the Director of Transportation to maintain an updated record of all exemptions granted and a report to the Legislature.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

Relating to audible vehicle reverse warning systems.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that in order to reduce urban noise pollution caused by reversing alarms of commercial and construction vehicles and to ensure safer reversing, it is necessary to transition to newer technology for audible reverse warning systems.  Commonly referred to as back-up beepers, most audible reverse warning systems use a tonal sound over a single frequency that humans hear as "beep-beep-beep".  Broadband alarms, on the other hand, use a pulsed acoustic signal that comprises a range of frequencies producing a noise that is heard as "pshh-pshh-pshh".  Broadband alarms are sometimes called quackers, croakers, and wooshers.

     The legislature further finds that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), requires the use of reversing alarms on construction vehicles to protect people from accidental injury and death, or alternatively the use of an observer to signal to the vehicle driver when it is safe to reverse.  If using a reversing alarm, it must be "audible above the surrounding noise level".  For specific earthmoving or compacting equipment, such as a bulldozer or grader, the alarm must be "distinguishable from the surrounding noise level".  Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations sections 1926.601(b)(4) and 1926.602(a)(9).

     Significantly, the legislature notes that OSHA regulations do not specify a particular type or sound of alarm, which allows for flexibility.  In several OSHA interpretation letters, the agency reaffirmed that its regulations do not specify that a particular reversing alarm be used or that the sound be of the single-tone type.  Per OSHA, any alternatives to a conventional back-up alarm may be used so long as they "provide adequate warning to workers in the path of the vehicle, and to workers walking towards the path of the vehicle in time to avoid contact".

     Various reports and studies have explored the deficiencies of single-tone back-up beepers, including a 2017 study titled "Perceptions of Key Stakeholders Regarding the Utilization of Locatable Sound for the Prevention of Occupational Pedestrian Injuries and Fatalities".  This study compared the use of broadband sound reversing alarms to traditional tonal sound alarms across a range of criteria--audibility, propagation, frequency content, and sound pressure maps--and concluded that broadband sounds for reversing alarms are nearly two-thirds more effective than their tonal equivalents.  The broadband sound is both better in preventing workplace fatalities and reducing noise pollution in the surrounding area due to the broadband sound system that allows for a variety of sounds and the focusing of the alarm's sound.  A New York State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation investigation determined that a traditional tonal back-up beeper had been inefficient in alerting the deceased worker to a reversing vehicle, stating, "Often people who work regularly near back-up beepers become accustomed to their sound and become desensitized to them as warning signals".

            The purpose of this Act is to protect the State's residents from disruptive noise pollution and utilize safer vehicular reversing practices by requiring the use of broadband reversing alarms instead of tonal alarms, for certain vehicles, by January 1, 2028.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 291, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part II to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§291-    Audible reverse warning systems.  No state or county-owned vehicle purchased on or after January 1, 2028, shall use an audible reverse warning system that emits a warning sound other than one using broadband technology.

     For the purposes of this section, "vehicle" includes earthmoving and compacting equipment such as scrapers, loaders, crawler or wheel tractors, bulldozers, off-highway trucks, graders, agricultural and industrial tractors, and similar equipment."

     SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Report Title:

Audible Reverse Warning Systems; Broadband Sound

Description:

Requires the use of current audible reverse warning systems (back-up beepers) on state and county-owned vehicles purchased on or after 1/1/2028, with more effective broadband reversing alarms by 1/1/2028.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1304

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   S.B. No. 312

      H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Transportation, to which was referred S.B. No. 312 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AUDIBLE VEHICLE REVERSE WARNING SYSTEMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to prohibit a state or county-owned vehicle purchased on or after January 1, 2028, from using an audible reverse warning system that emits a warning sound other than one using broadband technology.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation and one individual.

     Your Committee finds that the excessive noise pollution caused by tonal reversing alarms on commercial and construction vehicles disrupts urban environments, while their limited effectiveness in preventing workplace accidents raises safety concerns.  Studies have shown that broadband reversing alarms provide a more effective and targeted warning system, reducing workplace fatalities and environmental noise.  This measure ensures safer worksites and quieter communities by requiring state and county-owned vehicles purchased after January 1, 2028, to be equipped with broadband reversing alarms.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the purpose section;

     (2)  Authorizing the Director of Transportation to grant exemptions for a state or county agency that has demonstrated a good faith effort, to be determined by the Director, to implement a broadband warning system but cannot due to unavailability;

     (3)  Requiring the Director of Transportation to maintain a continuously updated and publicly available record of all exemptions granted and to submit biannual reports to the Legislature;

     (4)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 312, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 312, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation,

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1025

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 312

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 312 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AUDIBLE VEHICLE REVERSE WARNING SYSTEMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to protect the State's residents from disruptive noise pollution and utilize safer vehicular reversing practices by requiring the use of broadband reversing alarms instead of tonal alarms for state and county vehicles purchased after January 1, 2028.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation and Kalihi Palama Neighborhood Board No. 15.

     Your Committee finds that reversing alarms currently employed by commercial and construction vehicles contribute to urban noise pollution, which disrupts the daily routines of the State's residents.  Your Committee further finds that while the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires the use of reversing alarms on certain vehicles to protect people from accidental injury or death, OSHA regulations do not require a specific type of sound alarm, allowing for the use of broadband sound reversing alarms.  Accordingly, this measure will reduce noise pollution and improve urban safety by requiring certain vehicles to use broadband reversing alarms instead of tonal alarms.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 312 and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 253

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 312

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.B. No. 312 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AUDIBLE VEHICLE REVERSE WARNING SYSTEMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to protect the State's residents from disruptive noise pollution and utilize safer vehicular reversing practices by requiring the use of broadband reversing alarms instead of tonal alarms, for certain vehicles, by January 1, 2028.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Transportation.

     Your Committee finds that to reverse urban noise pollution caused by reversing alarms of commercial and construction vehicles, and to ensure safer reversing, it is necessary to transition to newer technology for audible reverse warning systems.  Most audible reverse warning systems use a tonal sound over a single frequency while broadband alarms use a pulsed acoustic signal comprising a range frequences.  Your Committee further finds that studies indicate that broadband sound reversing alarms outperform traditional tonal sound alarms in various categories.  Your Committee also finds that broadband sound is both better in preventing workplace fatalities and reducing noise pollution.  This measure will protect residents from disruptive noise pollution and ensure safer vehicular reversing practices.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 312 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts,