The barrier manufacturer Securiscape’s Glide Bollard-40 passed a 40mph impact test (pictured). The Derbyshire firm’s new product comprises a series of movable bollards capable of being slid in and out of position to control access. It left a 7.2 tonne truck mangled after its crash test.
Securiscape introduced the product last year in response to a request for a way to control vehicular access to garages or driveways. It comprises of a line of steel bollards which are fitted onto an underground rail that measures 240mm deep, which allows them to be slid from side to side. This means they can be moved to allow access for approved vehicles, but replaced and locked into position to prevent access at other times.
The Glide Bollard earned its IWA-14 rating after it was tested with a truck travelling at 30mph last year. Mark Stone, managing director of Securiscape, said that the latest test will now enable it to service 80pc of the high-security bollard market in the UK.
Mr Stone, who attended the test with some potential customers, said: “There has already been interest in the system and although I was confident we’d pass the test, when it came to it I have to confess I was so nervous that I couldn’t watch. When I saw the results, it was unbelievable. The truck hadn’t just been stopped, it was upside-down and totally annihilated, all due to the force of the impact.
“We’ve done loads of tests down the years, but this was by far the most successful and destructive one we’ve carried out. The extra 10mph nearly doubles the force of the impact, which accounted for the truck, but the bollards barely had a scratch on them.”
It took Securiscape, which is based in Ashbourne, three years to develop the product. Other products include reinforced street planters, blast-resistant litter bins and its Securipod temporary street barriers, which are designed to protect crowds attending outdoor events in streets and open public spaces.
Securiscape also developed a shallow IWA-14-rated pedestrian guardrail that can prevent vehicles from mounting pavements on the sides of road bridges, developed in the wake of the Westminster Bridge terror attack in London in 2017.
Elsewhere its products have been installed in towns and cities across the UK, including Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham and London, where they have been used to protect the UK headquarters of two international banks and Brent Borough Council’s civic centre in Wembley. Visit www.securiscape.co.uk.
