FALLING GATES – SWIFT ACTION IN USA

A recent news article, relating to a case in the US where a seven-year-old boy lost his life due to a falling gate has caught the attention of the Gate Safe team.

First and foremost, it marked yet another tragic death which could have been prevented had the correct safety protocol beenadhered to. But what also stood out was the rapid response to the incident from the local authorities.

The child was crushed by a 30 feet long gate weighing over 400 pounds (180kg) at his school in Marin County, California last December. Subsequently, in May of this year, the county’s Community Development agency (CDA) is presenting ‘an amendment to the building code that would require the installation of a safety device on gates more than 4 feet wide or 84 inches tall … to prevent them from falling flat and causing injuries’. The directive issued will mean that all gates of the dimensions specified above – either existing or new – would need to include a wire restraint or vertical post to ensure only ‘intended movement’. Once approved, the ruling will mean that building inspectors would check for the appropriate gate compliance as part of the routine final inspection associated with gaining the relevant building permit.

Gate Safe’s response to this is quite simply – well done – on so many levels. The charity has campaigned since 2010 for improved standards in electric (and manual) gates. Yet in the 13 years since its inception, we have been unsuccessful in our efforts to bring the installation of an automated gate under the scrutiny of local building control. This despite launching an online petition pushing for the inclusion of this type of installation within planning guidance as far back as 2015 and a meeting in London with LABC which represents Local Authority Building Control in England and Wales in October 2019. Yet in the US change was achieved in under a year. Why?

We have been advised that post Grenfell, issues such as unsafe gates will never reach the top of the agenda due to the focus on other ‘priority’ issues. Try telling that to the person who has lost a loved one after being crushed by a gate.

Secondly, in order for our voice to be heard, we need support from within the industry, we all need to work harder to impress those in power of the need for improved standards in gate safety. When we launched the petition, despite sharing the details through editorial generated in the trade press, a disappointing number of people put their names to the cause.

While we know that the British Standards guidance is not enforceable – indeed we are the first to say that even if it were, following the standards will not necessarily deliver a safe gate. But if more gates were compliant with the recommended requirement for three points of contact, i.e. three hinges (the third hinge doesn’t need to be geometric just a fixing point to stop the gate falling) or two hinges and a tether, as per the amended (released2018) BS EN 12604, then there would be less accidents. And if gate manufacturers complied with the guidance and made gates with the appropriate number of hinges, again, we would suggest that there would be less incidents relating to falling gates and therefore fewer accidents.

However, currently the fact remains that until there is an accident, there are no measures for either new or existing gates to be checked. At which point, it is too late.

We could not be more supportive of the steps taken in Marin County, particularly in relation to not just advocating but insisting upon the use of easy to adopt practical measures to prevent a gate from falling on someone. Gate Safe has spoken of the use of tethers for some time and this year’s campaign – Gate Safety by Design – focuses on the need for an inherently safe design to deliver the required level of protection from harm to gate users. We will use the case study in the US to leverage our point.

So, what can we learn from this case? At a time when, we are acutely aware of the pressure that HSE and Trading Standards are under in terms of their staffing resources – we heard recently that Trading Standards had had its work force cut by 60%. – now more than ever, the industry needs to pull together to record and report all incidents to provide the authorities with the evidence needed to prioritise automated gate safety. Gate Safe has been advised by Trading Standards and the HSE that they are keen to receive information relating to any gate related injury / fatality or even narrow escape. Gate Safe has been tracking accidents since 2010 but we can only log those that are reported in the press or relayed to us via our installers.

With the two key enforcement bodies operating with limited manpower, it is up to those operating in the industry to notify the relevant bodies of accidents or near misses. We need to unite to encourage the gate manufacturers to get it right from the get-go.

To coin a popular phrase, together we are stronger. And together we can make a difference, putting a stop to any further tragedies.

www.gate-safe.org