Barriers Keeping People Safe

Guest Post

By definition, a barrier is any object or structure that is designed to block the flow, control or to divert towards a desired direction. It can be man-made such as hand rails and concrete barricades but can also be natural such as plants, trees and even rivers. Barricades where used extensively in Europe during the different revolutions as well as into the different world wars but nowadays is mostly visible in controlling traffic. Before, barricades are solely for fortifying a particular location but now it has been used to keep personnel and vehicles from entering a dangerous or prohibited area. These are some of barriers that people barely notice but keep them safe from danger and harm.

Handrails

This is a kind of barricade that can be seen mostly in stairs and even in elevators. This rail is designed to be held by the hand so that the person grasping it won’t fall and provides stability and support. These are seen on stairways and also in escalators to prevent people from falling. Handrails are also seen in public vehicles such as buses and trains. People use this as support when moving through the moving vehicle so they won’t fall down.

These rails are also used to aid handicapped individuals. Comfort rooms as well as handicap lanes have to have handrails to support mobility for handicapped individuals. Without this kind of barricade, stairways, escalators and elevators would become dangerous to kids and individuals who have fear of heights and for the public in general.

Guardrails
These are visible barriers made for the purpose of keeping a larger group or vehicles from entering a dangerous or prohibited area. Guard rails are used in many areas. In hiking trails, guard rails are usually placed in parts where there is a sudden drop or on sides which are cliffs. This serves as a warning for hikers not to go to these areas because this is dangerous to them. Guard rails are featured heavily also in traffic.

The center of a typical highway will usually have a guard rail. This is to prevent opposing vehicles running towards different directions from crashing into each other. The other purpose could be to discourage pedestrians in crossing the street. The right hand side of most roads would also have guard rails. These prevents vehicles from running off the highway and in case of accidents, vehicles could be prevented from falling off cliffs or into drainage on the side of the road.

Guard rails can also be used in stadiums especially in big events such as big sporting events and rock concerts. Rails are placed to prevent people from entering the main field or to separate areas according to the ticket designations. To control crowds and preventing them from disrupting the performances, guard rails as well as bouncers are placed in front of the stage during rock concerts.

These are only some of the practical uses of barricades specifically hand rails and guard rails. Hand rails and guard rails basically have the same purpose but hand rails are specifically designed to aid and support a person or a small group but guard rails are used to control a larger crowd and sometimes even to control vehicles. People may not notice them but they keep people from getting hurt and injured.