Frustrated with your car park safety situation? Are other cars parking too close to yours? Maybe someone’s even dared to park you in. No one deserves to go through the parking woes that befall many of us out in the wild metropolis.
That may well be why you find yourself here – in search of solutions!
Parking bollards serve as a physical barrier against hostile vehicles and are known to prevent thousands of accidents each year. Even just seeing a bollard lets drivers know they can’t go there.
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What are safety bollards?
You’ll recognise safety bollards from walking around crowded city malls and in high traffic car parking blocks. They’re the metal poles that protrude from the ground that protect pedestrians from cars – and cars from bumping into each other and valuable assets.
Safety bollards are designed to protect valuable or potentially dangerous assets – like storefronts, fire hydrants, gas meters, and prevent cars or other vehicles from entering certain areas.
They’re designed and installed to ensure damage is either minimised or completely absorbed by the bollard – safety bollards are therefore a very important part of our urban infrastructure.
As such – bollards are ideal for protecting car parks – whether that’s your home driveway – or a large commercial car park.
Will a bollard stop a car?
Depending on how fast the car is going, the angle at which it hits, and the quality and installation of the bollard – the answer to this question may vary.
But let’s say, for example, you drive a 4×4 straight into a parking bollard – yes, you’re going to be stopped and significant damage done to your vehicle.
Indeed, some extremely heavy duty boards are capable of stopping terror attacks and vehicle rampage. You’ll notice heavy duty retractable bollards of this kind surrounding government buildings, embassies, and other important and expensive infrastructure, including high pedestrian traffic zones. Visit Here Todoos.com.
How much force can a bollard take?
With increasing instances of hostile vehicle attacks across the world and in Australia, it’s not uncommon for businesses to take it upon themselves to protect customers or the surrounding public from these attacks. There are a few aspects that go into determining the impact and the crash test rating:
- Vehicle speed
- Vehicle mass
- Bollard type
- Angle of impact
Depending on these metrics – crash-tested bollards can take a variety of different loads.
For example, an automatic heavy-duty security bollard is capable of stopping a 7.5-tonne truck in its tracks. As far as parking bollards go – in a crowded street – vehicles don’t have much room to gather speed to inflict serious damage – the same goes for large car park garages.
Are there minimum standards for testing and design?
Yes, in fact, there are. The International Workshop Agreement 13-1 (IWA 14-1) standard and the Publicly Available Specification 68 (PAS 68) are both recognised with Australia as the standards by which bollard safety can be measured.
If you’re thinking about installing bollards on public property, particularly if it’s for safety measures – you’ll need to comply with these standards and local regulations.
Where should bollards be placed?
This depends on how your bollards are to be used. If you’re using it to protect your private driveway from rogue cars and manic parkers – you’ll want to position your bollard in the middle of your driveway to ensure zero access.
Bollard placement in public settings will also depend on local and national regulations. This is to ensure proper safety, but also ensure the safe passage of pedestrians and disabled communities navigate through and around the bollards.
In Australia, bollards along a stretch of road where cars regularly park, are to be set 45-46 centimetres from the edge of a curb and spaced 90-150 centimetres apart. The minimum 90 centimetres rule carries through in other locations like schools and storefronts.
Do you need planning permission for parking bollards?
This depends on where you’re planning on installing your parking bollards. If it’s on a private driveway and does not impede normal traffic flow (e.g. set back from the public footpath) then you do not need planning permission to install a parking bollard.
However, if you want to install a parking bollard in a private car park within a company car park – or ensure safe access for delivery drivers and critical personnel – you will need to consult your local council.
How can I get parking bollards for my premises?
There are many Australian-made, high quality bollards for a parking spot, garage, or private driveway to be found online. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a competitive price with an installation service too. Generally, businesses specialising in different types of safety products can give the best value and will have experience dealing with the local codes and regulations.
