Millions of people drive every day, and while most understand that car accidents happen on a daily basis as well, few are aware of the common occurrence of storefront crashes.
These accidents frequently occur at many different types of locations throughout the country, often resulting in serious injury or even death in addition to property damage.
Thankfully, there is a safety device that is being used more and more to help prevent these incidents and protect both people and property.
Instances of Storefront Crashes in North America
According to Storefront Safety Expert Rob Reiter, vehicles crash into commercial buildings up to 20,000 times per year, which also comes out to about 60 times a day. Altogether, these incidents culminate in around 4,000 serious injuries and 500 deaths every year. Convenience stores alone experience 20 crashes every day.
With the rate of storefront crashes increasing, it’s becoming increasingly necessary to find ways to prevent these accidents.
Common Causes of Storefront Crashes
There are multiple causes behind storefront crashes, one of which is pedal error.
Pedal error is either the result of hitting the accelerator unintentionally when attempting to hit the brakes, or when a driver puts the vehicle in the wrong gear, such as putting the car in forward instead of reverse.
Parking space layout can also be a factor in storefront crashes, as drivers will be required to park facing the storefront in nose-in parking spaces. In the event of driver error, these locations will be vulnerable to unexpected damage and potential pedestrian harm.
How Traffic Bollards Can Keep Property and Pedestrians Safe
Today, traffic posts are often used to protect storefronts and other locations from vehicle damage. These posts have been constructed using concrete filler in a steel pipe in the past, but these models have been found to fail to hold up against vehicle damage in many cases.
However, modern developments have resulted in a stainless steel bollard that is used to effectively block vehicles at varying speeds. These posts can sufficiently withstand vehicle impact that may otherwise cause damage to property or containers and harm to people in many cases.
Professionals can help determine the best layout for these traffic posts to provide maximum protection for your facilities, whether you own a convenience store or another type of commercial venue with a potentially vulnerable storefront.
Keep Property Consistently Safe
Using one or more of these traffic posts can make a huge difference in the safety level of many types of property, including residential, commercial, industrial, and government facilities. While storefront security has often been overlooked, the need for traffic barriers has given storefronts the opportunity to remain safe and secure more effectively.
In addition to storefronts, traffic posts are used to protect property perimeters, streets, parking lots, parks, residential locations such as apartments, hotels, and many other types of locations. These safety devices are popular for many reasons, making them one of the most suitable products to install nearly anywhere.