As Gate Safety Week approaches, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has renewed its call for suppliers and installers of powered gates to follow vital safety guidance.
The HSE made the comment after a company pleaded guilty to breaching safety regulations at a court case in Dudley. The court heard how an eight-year-old boy was injured when his head became trapped by an entrance gate at a primary school.
HSE inspector Sarah Palfreyman said: "People getting trapped is a well-known risk in the industry and HSE has produced safety notes on the subject due to a number of fatalities involving children in recent years. I would encourage all suppliers and installers of electric gates to read the notes."
Gate Safety Week (October 13 - 19
www.gatesafetyweek.org.uk) has been organised by the UK powered gate industry to raise awareness of the dangers posed by automated gates that do not meet current safety legislation.
The Door & Hardware Federation Powered Gate Group and a number of influential organisations in the safety, enforcement, inspection, education and security sectors are behind Gate Safety Week. In the weeks running up to the event, DHF Powered Gate Group members and supporters will be campaigning hard to alert the public of the risks associated with unsafe automated gates and giving vital guidance on safe installation.
Said DHF Powered Gate Group chairman Neil Sampson: "Gate Safety Week is all about making as many people as possible aware of the dangers posed by a poorly installed or maintained powered gate. As an industry we are determined to minimise the risk of further tragic accidents happening.
"More than two thirds of all automated gates installed in the UK do not comply with current legislation and could pose a serious safety risk. Equally worrying is the fact that unsafe installations are still being carried out by unqualified installers and gate companies who are quite willing to take dangerous short cuts in installation.
"So our message in the run up to Gate Safety Week is clear - have existing powered gates checked to ensure they conform with current safety legislation, and insist that new gates are installed and maintained by qualified and trained installers and engineers."
