Speed gates and fast acting bi-fold gates are gaining popularity in the UK say product manufacturers Holland Traffic Control (HTC) as they combine the two essential elements of vehicle access control system – notably, speed of operation and security for vehicles and pedestrians.
Speed gates offer say Newport-based HTC a solution for the control of movement of vehicles and people and provide an alternative to the traditional raising arm barriers, bollards and other automatic swinging and sliding gate systems. Speed Gates are it’s claimed the only viable option for public car park security and have been installed in the accredited ParkMark public car parks.
There is, however, one other critical element that our industry must consider when designing, specifying and installing any automatic gate or automatic physical protection system: safety of operation. All too often, when budgets are tight, automatic gate safety can be compromised by the exclusion of certain safety critical features, according to the company.
It is vital that any automatic gate system has several independent safety circuits that can detect both vehicles and people. These safety circuits must be what are known in the industry as ‘Class 3’. This means that the safety circuits are continuously monitored by the gate control system, and
should one of these circuits stop functioning, then the gate operation will be shut down. And to comply with the latest EU/UK safety guidelines, all automatic gate systems should be tested and approved by an independent certified test house such as the German TUV.
It is the responsibility of both the client and the installer to ensure that any new gate system meets with the current health and safety standards and guidelines, and UK courts are handing out sentences, in many cases custody, says HTC, where it can be proved that safety has been compromised.
About Holland Traffic Control
HTC has been designing and manufacturing speed gates and fast acting bi-fold gates for over 20 years, and each and every HTC Speed Gate incorporates at least six independent safety circuits. HTC Speed Gates have been tested for over two million continuous operations.
