A Transportation Security Administration report said 173 people have been killed and more than 700 wounded in 17 ramming attacks in a three year period.
“No community, large or small, rural or urban, is immune to attacks of this kind by organized or ‘lone wolf’ terrorists,” the TSA report says. In many cases, these attacks were done in tourist areas that attract many pedestrians out enjoying a focal point of that city. Unfortunately, those areas are now attracting terrorists behind the wheel.
According to Lead Security Expert, Troy Blood of Perimeter Security Group “All cities should be considering permanent, retractable barriers in vulnerable spots as the terrorist threat is not abating and the accidents are becoming more and more frequent.”
“The best time to stop an attack is in its planning stages,” a recent article in the official publication of the International Association of Chiefs of Police stated.
Bollards and security barriers have been added to big cities with heavy pedestrian traffic as well as increased police presence in the areas with the most foot traffic. In Las Vegas alone, 700 bollards are being installed along the Las Vegas Strip at a cost of $5 million per year. Although there is no specific threat to the strip, security professionals and city government are calling the decision to increase security a matter of “life and death.”
Smaller cities and even corporations are not immune from the harm of bollard lawsuits. Insurance companies in a growing number of states are now offering discounted rates for those installing pedestrian safety features like bollards or crash rated planters.
The headlines are stacking up. The punitive damages are stunning.
Venice Beach recently paid out $14 million for not installing sufficient barriers to protect people strolling along their boardwalk after a driver plowed his car into the boardwalk, wounding more than a dozen and killing a newlywed on her honeymoon. Two other cases followed with the city settling those cases in the millions.
City lawyers had tried to fend off the lawsuits by arguing that the Venice Beach boardwalk fell under a state code that relieves government agencies from legal liability for injuries on recreational trails. The boardwalk, they argued, is used to access the beach, a nearby bicycle path and recreational activities such as handball and volleyball. But those arguments failed to sway an appellate court.
There are now many attorneys across the United States who now mention taking cases against cities and corporations for not proactively installing bollards or other pedestrian safety measures since the case law has been established and large settlements awarded.
Working from their headquarters in North Idaho, Perimeter Security Group has been consulting and installing physical security systems across the nation for more than twenty years. Perimeter Security Group has installed more that 5,000 retractable and fixed bollards and countless entry and exit security features for cities, military and corporations such as Nike, SpaceX, and even the department of corrections.
According to Lead Security Expert, Troy Blood, “Our new Secure & Protect Plan System is first and foremost meant to ensure public safety, but what we also focused in on was the lowest cost and quickest install ability for our new bollard protection system.” The system Perimeter Security Group employs is a staged process that starts with an on-site survey, followed by a comprehensive defensive plan including location and various physical security technology for all entry points and security gaps.
“We’re finding more and more today that both cities and campuses need the ability to have intermittent access to areas by security, fire or police on an immediate and ongoing basis. So our solutions account for those technologies while still being crash rated. We have also formed partnerships with the manufacturers of these bollards systems and have developed best in class solutions for these issues over the last decade. Our experience, knowledge and construction team is far and away the best in the nation.”
With the recent Covid 19 outbreak, we are seeing inquiries from around the nation with cities inquiring about protection for newly re-purposed outdoor roads and spaces being converted into outdoor dining, public walkways, open air markets. These new outdoor spaces pose new liabilities for city planners and park departments
