Cabinets
A barrier , path barrier or a barrier (formerly also simply: impact ), in Austria a barrier , in Switzerland a barrier , is a structural device for blocking a path, which consists of a movable rod on one or two supports.
Usually the rod is pivoted and the axis of rotation is horizontal, in contrast to a gate. The small size of a barrier then allows it to be folded up to open, which saves floor space. A classic barrier is a two-armed lever with a counterweight to minimize the effort required to open and close.
The first widespread application found barriers at border crossings , especially during small states . Barriers can be set up comparatively easily to collect customs and other charges. A meanwhile outdated name for a barrier was therefore “folding rule”. Toll booths and parking garages are common use cases in the present.
In the course of industrialization , barriers also became a means of traffic safety when they were introduced at level crossings . Since mass motorization , forest roads have often been blocked by barriers. Only there are simple designs without an electric motor common.
A modern barrier is no longer made of wood , but of steel and increasingly of light metals and plastics . The lighter materials, together with modern drive technology, enable more compact barriers that can be opened by means of an electric motor without still being dimensioned as a two-armed lever.
Red-and-white striped barriers are also traffic signs, at least in Germany, which mark road surfaces that are prohibited to drive on. Barriers in the respective national colors are common at border crossings. In poor visibility conditions, barriers without contrasting colors pose a considerable risk of accidents.
Half barriers are sometimes installed at level crossings in order to keep half the width of the street free as an escape route so that no one is locked between automatically closing barriers. Originally, railway barriers, which in the middle of the 19th century were still called wire pull barriers, were moved by gatekeepers . In the past, railway barriers were often equipped with additional metal curtains as protection against creeping under. There are also barriers with attached scissor bars as protection against climbing over. Articulated arm barriers are now also used in parking space management in particular .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cf. Werner Fried: A turnpike in the city center. Ban border between Wellesweiler and Mittelbexbach. On the website of the historical association Stadt Neunkirchen e. V.
- ↑ § 43 transport facilities . In: Road Traffic Regulations . Federal Ministry of Justice . Retrieved June 8, 2013.