Whilst bollards may come in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles, there is one thing that most bollards have in common – they help to ensure safety. From preventing car collisions to helping the organization of road and parking lots, bollards play a pivotal role in protecting pedestrians and promoting road safety. If you want to know more about how bollards help to make cities safer and just how important they are, here’s a quick read that will inform you on all you need to know.
Understanding Road Safety
It’s important to understand what road safety is before unpacking the role that bollards play in promoting it. Road safety involves measures that have been put in place to reduce the risk of injuries, accidents and damage to property on the road. Accidents can occur for a range of reasons, but typically happen due to factors such as disobeying traffic rules, driving unsafely and not using helmets or seatbelts when on the road. Road safety exists to protect drivers and pedestrians as it focuses on teaching people how to both drive and crossroads safely.
One of the most important groups of people that road safety is aimed at teaching, is children. In their early years, children need support with every small task that may have any associated risks. Accidents and collisions on the road are a huge risk for younger children as they are unaware of detecting oncoming traffic or determining the speed of vehicles. Teaching children the rules of the road and providing them with road safety is of utmost importance.
Why Road Safety Equipment Is Useful
Proper road safety entails more than just understanding and promoting it – road safety equipment also plays a huge role in protecting roads. In the case of an accident, road safety equipment helps to keep drivers and passengers safe. This equipment can refer to a range of installations on roads, such as road barriers, reflective delineators and bollards.
Because of the versatility of their form, bollards can also be used to create barriers on the road. Fixed road barriers are crucial when it comes to reducing traffic accidents. Here are few reasons why fixed road bollards are effective:
Affordable: Because road bollards are made from materials that make them durable and sturdy, they require little to no maintenance once installed. In this way, installing road bollards is a cost-effective way to promote road safety as they don’t come with any maintenance fees.
Reliable: The durability of fixed bollards not only make them affordable, but also able to resist high impact from road collisions. The construction and placement of bollards are built in such a way that oncoming vehicles are stopped by the short posts as they can withstand the heavy force of collisions. The sturdiness of bollards makes them the perfect apparatus for ensuring road safety.
Traffic Calming: Bollards also help to better organize traffic and direct cars in certain directions. Bollards are a passive yet effective alternative to traffic officers as their presence helps to contain traffic into designated road lanes. Because of their ability to withstand high impact, cars are less likely to cross over or drive through them which may put others on the road at risk.
The Safety Uses Of Road Bollards
Since bollards can come in a range of designs and serve different functions, so too are safety bollards. Because they provide both visual and physical barriers, they are extremely secure structures. Whilst road bollards are all constructed with the purpose of ensuring road safety, many bollards can serve more specific safety precautions or help to protect certain property. Below are 5 key safety uses for bollards:
Park Safety: Many public parks have both permanent and retractable bollards that can typically be found both around the perimeter of parks as well as scattered inside them. In addition to preventing road collisions park bollards also serve as designated spots for hiking and biking spots. Additionally, these structures act as welcome safety measures for the numerous people that tend to use pavements adjacent to parks for exercising.
Bank Teller Protection: Not only do bollards protect buildings and pedestrians from road accidents, but they also help to promote safety when placed near ATMs. Burglars have been known to crash into ATMs to try and steal from them. The presence of bollards makes it impossible for burglars to destroy ATMs with their cars and, in part, can assist with preventing theft.
Warehouse Protection: Without the right safety apparatus, heavy machinery and high shelves of inventory can make warehouses very unsafe for employees. Forklift operators can safely function near bollards as they act as safeguards between machinery and shelves. Additionally, employees can enjoy their work breaks near bollards without the worry of a forklift colliding into them. Not only are employees protected, but so too are heavy machinery and important inventory in storage.
Entry & Exit Door Safety: Organizing and directing vehicles is made possible with bollards protecting entry and exit doors. They help to not only protect employees coming in and out of buildings safely, but also make apparent to drivers where they are able to direct their cars. If your business is expecting hefty delivery trucks on a regular basis, having bollards is a great way to protect the entrance and exit points of your building.
Stadium Safety: Sport stadiums can become crowded with high volumes of cars and people quickly, especially if there are big sport events taking place. Hordes of sports enthusiasts can often be found waiting around for friends and family to arrive, standing in queues to purchase tickets or even smoking outside before the event. Bollards installed on and around curbs are essential in ensuring road safety as they reduce the risk of sports fans bumping into vehicles looking for parking or leaving the stadium.
What Traffic Bollards Are Available?
Traffic bollards can come in many different forms. These variations are typically influenced by factors such as the location they are placed in or the function of their usage. These structures can be grouped into the following categories:
Retractable Vehicle Barriers:
Vehicle barriers are most commonly used to provide vehicles with a pre-ordained path, commonly blocking off areas that are prohibited, or protecting them from entering dangerous areas. Retractable barriers are particularly well suited for this task, as they can both prevent unauthroised access by certain vehicles while allowing others to enter unhindered. Retractable vehicle barriers can be found throughout urban areas.
Permanent Posts:
Although retractable vehicle barriers have more utility, permanent posts are more popular. Although they can not raise or lower at will they still provide a strong and effective barrier that can both guide vehicles, allowing for better traffic flow while also providing an effective means at preventing vehicles from entering areas they are not supposed to. As the name suggests, these features are permanently put in place and therefore generally need to be made from a robust material that will last. This generally includes mediums like cement or steel.
Provisional Barriers:
This sort of bollard fits neatly between the two barriers discussed above. The purpose of a provisional barrier is not to be a permanent feature but rather used in specific situations, after which they are either removed or destroyed. These sort of barriers are most commonly used when the flow of vehicles needs to be diverted for a short time, think of road emergencies, vehicles breaking down, or areas of city being cordoned off for a sporting or cultural event. Here provisional barriers work incredibly well. They are generally made from materials like cardboard or plastic which is light and easy to move.
The Functions Of Road Barriers
Besides helping to prevent traffic accidents, road barriers are needed for a variety of other reasons. Many fixed bollards are not only versatile in appearance but are also multi-functional. Some other functions that road barriers serve include the following:
Useful For Steep Declines: These barriers are highly recommended with roads that have a decline greater than 5 meters as they help to prevent cars from tumbling down slopes or cliffs. If a driver experiences a mechanical fault within their vehicle, these structures are important for road safety as they stop cars from rolling down.
Protecting Bus Stations & Roadside Installations: Accidents are common around bus stops as there are always people standing around or crossing the road while they wait for their bus to arrive. To prevent this, road bollards are placed between bus stops and main roads to act as a buffer. Additionally, these structures also help to protect roadside installations from getting rammed by speeding cars, especially if these installations are on steep declines or road bends.
Being A Median Divider: Median dividers are physical barriers that separate opposing lanes of traffic that have divided roads. These include freeways, motorways, highways and dual carriageways. Fixed road barriers are a useful form of median dividers as they help to break up the two sections of the road. Additionally, they also protect uncontrollable cars from penetrating the media lane to oppose the conflicting traffic.
Bollard Styles At StreetScape
When it comes to offering a variety of bollards, StreetScape is your go-to place. Our road structures are constructed from concrete or steel, giving you the choice to have the right bollard material catered to your exact needs. We guarantee that the durability of these materials ensures the safety and protection of your home or business from the dangers of oncoming traffic and road collisions. Here is a brief breakdown of the variety of bollards that we offer:
Concrete: If you’re looking for protective structures that provide practicality and durability, concrete is the way to go. At StreetScape, we offer an assortment of finishes for your concrete posts that can be tailored to whichever space you’re adding it to. Not only do they come in a variety of colours that range from assorted browns to raw grey, but we also offer different textures including smooth concrete, course with stone specks and several others. Our concrete bollard styles include but are not limited to Bastian, Quartet, Oval, Barrier, Taper, Dome, Fence Rail and many more.
Steel: Our steel posts are all constructed from galvanized steel and can be made into a range of aesthetic designs. We guarantee that the quality of our steel posts won’t become rusted or corroded and will not be easily damaged. Whether you want a natural steel finish or a colour of your choice for your steel bollards, StreetScape has you covered. To name a few, included in our steel bollard designs are Canon, Newton, Quay, Regal, Ball Head 50 and Round 150 Flat Top.