Crash rated products play a vital role in safeguarding critical spaces and protecting the public.
From barriers and gates to and fences, these products provide robust protection against unauthorised access, intentional attacks, and accidents.
Crash rated products should be used anywhere where a Vehicle Dynamic Assessment (VDA) has determined a vehicle threat. This assessment is an extensive process to obtain Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) measures. A VDA will assess the vulnerabilities of your site, the various entry points, and possible vehicle threats.
Once a VDA has determined your site risk level, you should be investing in the appropriate HVM products.
So, where should you begin?
What Are Common Crash Rated Products?
It’s important to clarify that not all crash rated products are the same – which is why it’s crucial for specifiers to choose appropriate levels of protection to mitigate the risk to ensure efficient protection of their site
PAS68, IWA 14-1andASTM accredited products are not all comparable. That’s not just between the three standards too, that can be between products accredited by the same standard. This is due to each standard giving a classification detailing how the product performed in the crash test, with the size of vehicle, angle of impact, speed, penetration, and debris all being considered.
Crash rated products include:
- Crash-Tested Barriers: These include crash-rated barriers and bollards that are designed to prevent vehicle intrusion and protect buildings, infrastructure, and pedestrians.
- Crash-Rated Fences: Crash-rated fences are designed to withstand vehicle impact and prevent unauthorised entry. They are commonly used to secure sensitive areas, such as military installations, airports, and government facilities.
- Crash-Tested Gates: Crash-rated gates are designed to control vehicle access while providing a high level of security. They are often used in high-risk areas such as industrial sites, military bases, and critical infrastructure facilities.
- Crash-Tested Vehicle Barriers: Vehicle barriers, including crash-tested anti-ram barriers, are used to protect buildings, checkpoints, and other sensitive areas from vehicle-borne threats.
Understanding your site needs before investing in a product is crucial to maximising your cost efficiency and ensuring full site protection.
For example, without doing efficient research, you might end up overspending on crash rated products that aren’t necessary. It might be that your site is at the end of a winding road that would prevent a vehicle from gaining speed, regardless of how open your premises is.
Applications of Crash Rated Products
Crash rated products are used in a wide range of applications, across various industries and environments, where safety and security are paramount.
We also see crash rated product day-to-day in airports (where barriers secure terminal buildings, baggage handling areas, etc), shopping centres, train stations, city centres and large event venues. These products help create secure perimeters, preventing unauthorised vehicles from entering pedestrian areas and minimising the risk of accidents in densely populated spaces.
such as Government and Military sites, need efficient crash rated protection from attackers to help safeguard critical infrastructure and personnel.
Do I Need Crash Rated Products On My Site?
Crash rated products should be used to protect people, property, and critical assets.
It’s important to assess the threat level of your site before considering which crash rated products to invest in.
For example, the accessibility of your building will have a huge impact on the level of protection you need. If your site has a large run-up, where a vehicle can gain momentum towards your site, this will need to be secured with crash rated products, such as gates.
Furthermore, the threat level on your site might be determined by a previous attack or accident that’s occurred. See the case study below to learn more about a real-life example of this.
Case Study: Carden Primary School
Schools should be a safe place for children.
Unfortunately, Carden Primary in Brighton had been subject to two separate incidents within 12 months, where a vehicle crashed through the school fencing. The first vehicle crossed the playing field and crashed into the wall of the school building and the second vehicle ended up on the playing field.
Although no one was injured, due to it happening outside of school hours at the time, this meant that fast action needed to be taken to prevent this from happening a third time.
The crash rated solution had to stop a vehicle coming from a T junction heading directly towards the school. In this case, Barkers Fencing’s StronGuard™RCS (crash rated fence) could not only stop a 7.5tonne truck at 30mph, but it did so whilst bearing the same look and footings as a standard palisade security fence.
Conclusion
Crash-rated products are vital in safeguarding critical spaces, providing robust protection against unauthorised access, intentional attacks, and accidents.
Their applications span government facilities, transportation hubs, critical infrastructure, commercial spaces, industrial sites, and roadways. Implementing crash-rated products proactively safeguards individuals, critical spaces, and operations.
It’s important to have a VDA and to seek advice from professionals or consultants experienced in crash-rated product implementation. Although Barkers Fencing and similar companies can’t carry out the VDA, we can put you in touch with consultants that do that we have worked with in the past.
Not sure on the next steps, reach out to the team who will help you to help.
Make sure to get in touch with a member of the team today to discuss your specific project needs and to get clued up on the best ways to protect your site.