HOW SAFE IS YOUR CAR PARK? Michael Reid, General Manager, Carpark Compliance Solutions
Car parks are often unassuming facilities, but they can be hazardous environments due to their high level of vehicle and pedestrian activity and must be managed with extreme care.
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wners of car park facilities are responsible for the safety of those who use their parking facilities and this issue was highlighted recently in a legal case involving the death of a man who accidently reversed through a safety barrier in a hotel car park in Sydney. This incident highlighted the urgent need for car parks to undertake a safety audit to ensure their facility complies with current standards. In this case, the hotel and council were both found to be negligent as the car park’s perimeter railings used for edge protection failed to comply with Australian Standard AS1170.1. The court found that the concrete wheel stops had not been installed properly and the
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metal perimeter railing failed to comply with Australian Standards, contributing to the man’s death. Engineers should keep such issues in mind as these types of incidents are not uncommon. A similar incident occurred two years ago at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle and while the driver in this instance escaped serious injury, the accident has prompted the hospital to replace its perimeter edging with a load-bearing barrier that exceeds current Australian Standards to protect it from a repeat accident. When designing car parks, or any car park infrastructure, engineers should consider the live load bearing of its perimeter