Enhancing Security Gates: 3 Ways To Prevent Tailgating

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Housing Survey, gated communities are lower risk for being victims of burglary than non-gated communities. Still, many communities are concerned that unauthorized intruders may be able to infiltrate the property and get past the security gates by simply tailgating the vehicle in front of them. Here are 3 ways to prevent tailgating:

Having A Security Guard On Stand-By

If your gated community has the resources needed to hire a security guard to be on stand-by at all times at the gates to monitor which vehicles are going in and out, you can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized intruders entering through tailgating. The security guards can easily identify the vehicles that have entered the property without authorization, and can take immediate action in removing the culprits from the community. Some security gates are controlled manually by security guards, who are responsible for verifying the identity of everyone entering and exiting through the gates. 

Adding A High-Speed Swing-Arm

The contractors installing the security gates can add a high-speed swing-arm between the gated keypad and the gate to prevent tailgaters from being able to get past the security gates. The synchronization of when the swing-arm opens and closes must be extremely precise for this to work. In addition, there must be sufficient front-end real estate available for this modification to be made without affecting the overall design and structure. 

Installing Speed Bumps Before The Swing Arm

To slow down the tailgaters and prevent them from getting through, you can also consider installing speed bumps before the swing arm, so that the vehicles have no choice but to slow down. Speed bumps are a highly recommended option because they are a cheap alternative that does not need to be maintained throughout the years. In addition, it is relatively effective. 

Although speed bumps are effective, they can slow down traffic significantly at the gates, which can problematic depending on the volume of people that will be entering and exiting at any given time during the day. As a result, speed bumps are generally only recommended for low-volume access points. 

Conclusion

If you are concerned about tailgaters making it past the gates without having to identity themselves, these 3 techniques and solutions can help. Depending on the amount of resources that the gated community has and the volume of people that will be accessing the gates, different solutions may be more beneficial than others. For more information about enhancing your security gate, contact a company like Built By Geoff.