subject: Reminders For Continued Family Safety With Garage Doors [print this page] It is very beneficial for homes to have automatic openers and this is proven by millions of users. The new models are safer than ever, before thanks to a new state and federal regulations that became effective on January 1, 1993.
The rules were drawn from the Underwriters Laboratories Standard 325 or UL 325 which entails every home garage door opener that are being fabricated for sale in the US to have optical sensor or door edge sensor. Environmental protection and defect detection needs are also listed in the UL 325.
UL 325 is the basis of all federal and state safety laws. It was pioneered by the Underwriters Laboratories in 1973 as an independent industry standard safety law and then tweaked some of the contents in 1982 and 1988 to also cover safety precautions for electric shock, fire and entrapment hazards.
The activated law in 1990 imposed a low requiring every residential garage door opener meant to be sold in the US to abide by the UL 325 entrapment protection protocols. On the first day of the year 1993, the UL 325 widened the scope furthermore to cover the requirement of an optical sensor or a door edge sensor or a similar tool for garage doors.
This codification is not saying consumers should all buy new garage door models. The only catch is that you cannot find replacement of the parts once these old models become problematic. That is the time they will have no choice but to get safer and more modern designs.
A consumer awareness safety operation was pioneered in addition to the more stringent law that has been passed regarding its openers. To ensure that both garage door and opener are working in a safe and efficient manner, they should be tested on a monthly basis.
Irregularity in the maintenance and problem correction may lead to injuries. Hasty operation and not minding the kids as they play with the garage door opener controls are practices most likely leading to a catastrophic consequence.
The steps to take to keep your family and friends safe from harm are not really hard. It is too risky and may even have a tragic ending. Children should not be allowed near transmitters or wall controls.
Position the push button wall at least 5 feet high. Put all moving parts away from it and it should be absolutely off limits to children. The closing of it must be in full view from where your button is mounted and is being used.
Discuss safety with your children. Give the door your full attention until it is completely closed. Discipline kids as to not playing near or below an open garage door.
Running under a closing door must be prohibited. Put a 2x4 object right under the garage door.
The normal reaction of a closing door should be to stop and go the opposite way. Otherwise, you need to have this repaired, adjusted or substituted.
