What You Should Know About Gate Safety

Your residential gate installation is over.  You’ve got the best-looking, most modern system out there.  It guards the front of your home like a proud lion.  It’ll stand there for decades.  Now the only thing that’s left is to understand how you and your family can benefit from the industry’s modern safety features. 

Common safety features: Edges, eyes, and loops

One thing that most modern systems have is a miller edge.  This is a device that stops things from getting caught at the hinge point, which is especially useful for small children who don’t know not to put their finger there.  Be sure to have your repairman take a look at the miller edge when doing hinge welding repair.

Another safety feature is photo eyes.  Photo eyes sit on either side of your gate and prevent the gate from closing if something breaks the light beam.  They’re designed to stop the heavy door from swinging shut on your car if you accidentally press the remote while driving through.

Other safety features: Loops and Sirens

All motorized operators are required to come with a siren.  When having a professional do maintenance service on your gate, as him to turn it on.  It may be very annoying, but it could save someone’s life someday.  The other standard feature is the safety loop.  If you have a slide gate, this is crucial.  It sits on the driveway, and when a car is over it, it prevents the door from closing.  For this type of system, you could do some real damage to your car if the heavy slide door closes on it, so be sure to have 24/7 emergency service on speed dial if you don’t have these safety features.