Pressing an up or down button which when released causes the door to stop is very different to pressing buttons which then auto fully open or close the door or gate.
I think we are all to some extent guilty of thinking that's how it worked when installed it must be OK that way. But I have done the cardboard box test many times. What is frighting is how many times it has crushed the box.
Mother has a mobility scooter when she was likely to hit some one I stood in front of her, and was pleased to find it did not have that much force. But the type able to do 8 MPH have loads of force even when set to 4 MPH for pavement use. It is the same with roller shutter doors, the ballast weight or spring ballast can mean the door has very little effort, but others which look the same can nearly cut one in half.
I seem to remember it is some where around 400 N of force which in layman's terms is 88 lbs so my box test was not going to stop anything like 88 lbs but 88 lbs on the chest of a healthy man is very different to that of a small child so it will depend on where the door is.
The 2013 report
on a gate death shows how British manufacturers have got it wrong so one can't rely on the fact it came for a well known firm meaning it is safe to use. In my mothers house we have a stair lift from Stannah with no safety cut out on the extending leg and it can be operated where the leg can't be seen. Used for the once in Blue moon I take mother up stairs OK, but before I could rent out the house it would need disabling as it could crush a baby.
Where I worked we would shift the blame, we would hire a specialist to install and do any tests. We were able to do the work our selves, but the boss would only allow it in an emergency, simply so he could blame some one else if it went wrong.
Further reading on gate death happened in 2010 and court case concluded in 2015 in between that time director was first found guilty then that was reversed and then company found guilty of corporate manslaughter fined £50,000 in yearly instalments of £8,000 so it would seem not paid by insurer's so that firm must advertise what happened so it is hoped they are still trading in 7 years time.
The report points out they were told gate was for vehicle only access and thought there was no pedestrian access and they did not design the gate they only fitted it.
Some times I read these reports and wonder how some people seem to get away Scot free, the council who told the company no vehicle access for example, and the worker who did not read the installation manual and instead took a 3 minute instruction from manufacturer.
But it does make me think how you have to watch your back, and how easy it is for some one to be made guilty when they only knew about what had gone on after the event.
