Easy to install, simple to operate and capable of standing up to a 7.2 tonne lorry driven at speed, Securiscape’s new gliding bollard security system is a cost-effective and ingenious addition to our range of hostile vehicle mitigation devices.

It was launched in October 2020 and, such was the interest in it, we already had potential customers getting in touch to find out more about it even before we put it through its final test, subjecting it to a direct head-on impact with a truck travelling at 30mph.

This is passed, with flying colours, earning its IWA 14 rating, having left the lorry with its axle sheared off. The bollards, meanwhile, moved just 4° from the vertical.

Some months later, we returned to the testing centre with a new version, putting it in front of another 7.2 tonne truck travelling this time at 40mph. Once again, the bollards stood up to the task – which is more than can be said for the truck, which was demolished and left lying upside down.

Both versions of the system – the Glide Bollard 30 and Glide Bollard 40, which are both IWA 14-rated – comprise of a series of moveable steel bollards fitted into a rail that measures just 210mm deep for the 30mph Glide and 240mm deep for the 40mph Glide, and is embedded into the surface of a road or pathway, you can also order the system as static bollards or a mixture of the two !

The bollards – the number of which can be varied dependent on the width of the road – are separated  by 1.2mm metal plates, or can have trays to fill with your road or pavement surface to blend in with its surroundings and  hold the bollards in position to create an impregnable barrier to vehicles without impeding the progress of pedestrians or cyclists.

However, when a vehicle needs to pass through, the metal covers/trays are removed and as many bollards as are needed in order to allow the vehicle through are simply slid aside.

Once the vehicle has gained access, the bollards are returned to their original positions and the metal plates are locked back in place.

It took us three years to develop the Glide Bollard 30 and 40 systems, initially in response to an inquiry from a customer looking for a straightforward moveable vehicle barrier that did not prevent pedestrians passing through, while avoiding extensive and costly excavations.