GATE SAFETY ON WESTMINSTER AGENDA

 GATE SAFETY ON WESTMINSTER AGENDA

GATE SAFETY ON WESTMINSTER AGENDA

Eight years after Gate Safe, a charity established to drive awareness of the required safety protocols associated with automated gates, took their campaign to Downing Street, the organisation has returned to Westminster to meet with its key stakeholders to discuss future initiatives designed to improve the safety of automated gates in the UK.

The Westminster Round Table, held in the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday 12th September, was chaired by Gate Safe’s Patron, Madeleine Moon MP and included representatives from Gate Safe’s established supporters including the Electrical Contractor’s Association, RoSPA and the Association of Fencing.

The meeting focused on the need to address the number of automated gate accidents / fatalities which continue to occur in the UK, largely due to the fact that, especially domestic client, remain ignorant of their responsibility to specify a safe gate.

Commenting on the meeting, Gate Safe Founder Richard Jackson said, “We’ve definitely come a long way since we started Gate Safe and now have a register of nearly 1400 Gate Safe Aware accredited installers in the field who have undergone the requisite training to help deliver a safe and compliant automated gate / barrier installation for a customer.

“We are still however seeing far too many accidents as a result of an unsafe automated gate. Automated gates are classed as machines and as such, any client who chooses to install a powered gate must be aware of the need not just to have the gate installed correctly but also for it to be regularly maintained. Aside from the moral obligations of trying to avoid an accident, there is now a legal precedent that shows the tough line that the courts are taking if they identify any sign of negligence in the chain of professionals who may be associated with an automated gate installation,” he added.

Gate Safe and its stakeholders agreed a number of actions, which with the help of Madeleine Moon MP, will ensure that automated gate safety will enjoy a heightened profile in the future. Watch this space!

www.gate-safe.org

Damien