This post is part four of a five part article dealing with
types of bollards and their ideal uses. Today
I’ll discuss various drive-thru applications where bollards are often found
protecting equipment and personnel.
Banks and ATMs
Perhaps the most obvious use for protective bollards is at
the traditional bank drive through teller.
These areas have expensive equipment and are usually narrow lanes,
requiring protection from drivers who might struggle to get close enough to the
machine. More recently, all banks have
installed drive through automated teller machines (ATM) with similar requirements
for protection. These machines are
sometimes stand-alone within a parking lot, and because of the large amount of
cash held inside, need to be protected from “crash and grab” robberies where a
criminal might ram the machine in order to dislodge it and potential haul away
the entire machine. Strong bollards are
key in these instances.
Drive-Thru Restaurants
Fast food restaurants with drive up windows must protect
several areas. First is the ordering
speaker and menu board. Damage to either
can temporarily close an important source of revenue if the restaurant cannot
take drive through orders. Second is the
building and teller window. Often a turn
is needed by a driver to approach the restaurant window to both pay and receive
food. Because the driver must reach out
the window for these tasks, he usually attempts to be as close to the building
as possible, increase the risk of damage.
Bollards play an important role in protecting both the physical building
and the teller window from accidental impact.
These are often large (6” diameter and relatively tall) steel
bollards.
Outside Eating Areas
Restaurant owners that chose to maintain outdoor eating
areas need to consider the protection provided for their patrons against an
errant vehicle. This is especially
critical in areas adjacent to roadways, but is also important when near parking
areas. Simple wrought
iron fencing is not enough to prevent potentially life threatening injuries
should a drive lose control of his vehicle.
Often due to aesthetic considerations, large concrete planters are
chosen to provide protection, but architectural bollards can also be used. In either case, the protection should be
professionally engineered to provide adequate protections from potential risks.
Guard Shacks and
Payment Shacks
Common to public parking lots and garages is an entrance and
exit guard shack, usually manned, designed to house a single teller. Because this is usually the only access point
for the secured area, it must be protected from both accidental and intentional
ramming. Strong bollards are used
throughout these areas to protect both the occupant and adjacent areas where
automatic payment machines might be located.
In the case of a post-tensioned concrete structure, surface mounted
bollards may be required to avoid damage to structural concrete. In this case, rebounding
bollards may be the best choice as they can provide more strength that a
simple steel plate surface mounted bollard.
Automatic Car Washes
The automatic car wash is a special sort of
drive through area with delicate equipment that needs to be protected at all
cost. A car wash with damaged equipment
often makes no money while waiting for repairs.
Modern car wash facilities have automated drive up teller machines that
need bollard protection. The entrance
and exit of the car wash itself also needs to be protected as drivers attempt
to align their vehicles to the tracks and exit the wash. Speeds are generally expected to be slow in
these areas, so often surface mounted bollards can be adequate. Relying on plastic warning cones, however, is
not recommended.
Conclusion
Adequate protection for employees, customers, and expensive
equipment is of critical importance for businesses that operate drive through
areas. Failure to provide adequate protection
can lead to lost revenue and risk injury to people. In such cases, bollards are an indispensable safety
device.
In the next and last installment of this article, we’ll look at a
completely new application for bollards, that being in the industrial setting
where forklift protection is an important consideration.
