Custom Architectural Bollard – courtesy FEMA
Last week Echo reported on its Liverpool (England) news pages “Shocked clubbers flee as BMW hits man after ploughing through city centre ‘anti-terror’ barriers”. On April 5th a BMW crashed through two security bollards and struck a pedestrian. The victim sustained minor injuries which required a hospital visit.
The incident did not appear to be an act of terrorism, but rather drunk and reckless driving. It did raise the question of the effectiveness of the security bollards and whether they were even raised at the time at the incident.
About six months prior Liverpool changed procedure on how its security bollards would protect pedestrians. This was over concerns about its existing anti-terrorism measures meant to protect citizens and visitors in this heavily frequented area.
The incident sparked a change in the hours when the hydraulically operated security bollards would be raised. The city council was also to consider making “… necessary improvements to the structure and placement of static and retractable bollards around the city.”
Questions have also been raised about whether the installed bollards were strong enough to stop the vehicle or whether they had been properly tested.
Note: I have read that standards for security bollards in other parts of the world do not meet those of the K-rating system we use in the U.S. Learn more about K ratings and anti-ram bollards at our Crash Rated Bollards page.
Security Bollards Meet the Royal Wedding?
According to Nelson’s Column in Britain’s Mirror last week voters in the U.K. signaled their strong desire to see security bollards installed for the upcoming royal wedding. The article cited a survey indicating 44 per cent of those surveyed expressed a desire for “tougher security such as bollards and barriers around the Royal wedding and similar events where crowds gather.”
A cabinet officer (humoristically) was noted to claim he “…could add a bollard and barrier app so Meghan and Harry can navigate them without tripping over and doing themselves a mischief.”
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