Bollard glossary

Terms A to Z

Anti-ram bollard

A bollard intended to stop a vehicle being driven deliberately into a building or crowd. Strictly, only a crash-tested product has a known performance.

ANPR

Automatic number plate recognition: a camera system that reads registrations and can open automatic bollards for authorised vehicles.

Base-plated bollard

A post welded to a steel plate that is bolted or resin-anchored to a concrete slab, used where digging a footing is impractical.

Bollard cover (sleeve)

A stainless steel or plastic sleeve fitted over an existing post to improve its appearance or visibility.

CAT and Genny

A cable avoidance tool and signal generator used to locate buried cables and metallic pipes before digging.

Cassette

The steel housing set into the ground that a telescopic or automatic bollard retracts into.

Clear gap

The open space between two bollards. For pedestrian routes it is usually set so wheelchairs and buggies can pass but cars cannot.

Core drilling

Cutting a neat round hole through concrete or paving with a diamond core bit, often used for socket and post installation.

Crash-rated (crash-tested)

Impact-tested to a recognised standard with a recorded vehicle mass, speed, impact angle and penetration distance.

Dial before you dig

Requesting utility records for a site before excavation, for example through a utilities search service.

Drainage sump

A gravel-filled base under a telescopic or automatic bollard cassette that lets water drain away.

Drop key

A key held by the fire service or site team that releases or lowers a bollard for emergency access.

Electro-mechanical bollard

An automatic bollard driven by an electric motor and gearbox rather than hydraulics.

Fail-safe / fail-secure

What an automatic bollard does in a power cut: fail-safe lowers or can be lowered, fail-secure stays up.

Flexible bollard

A polyurethane or sprung post that bends on impact and returns upright, used where low-speed knocks are frequent.

Fold-down post

A hinged parking post that locks upright and folds flat to let a vehicle pass.

Footing

The concrete foundation that holds a bollard in the ground.

Ground socket

The sleeve set into the ground that a removable bollard sits in; usually fitted with a lid when the post is out.

HVM

Hostile vehicle mitigation: measures, including bollards, intended to stop vehicles being used as weapons against people or buildings.

Hydraulic bollard

An automatic bollard raised and lowered by a hydraulic ram and power pack.

Induction loop

A wire loop cut into the road surface that detects a vehicle above it, used for safety and for opening automatic bollards.

IWA 14-1

An international workshop agreement for impact-testing vehicle security barriers, now superseded by ISO 22343-1; products tested to it remain accepted.

ISO 22343

The current international standard for vehicle security barriers: Part 1 sets the impact test and rating, Part 2 covers selection, installation and use.

Root-fixed bollard

A post with a length below ground cast into a concrete footing, the strongest common fixing for unrated posts.

PAS 68

The former British specification for impact-testing vehicle security barriers. Superseded by ISO 22343-1, but products tested to it remain accepted and listed by NPSA.

PAS 170

A British low-speed trolley impact test for single bollards (2,500 kg at 16 or 32 km/h), aimed at car parks and shopfronts; not equivalent to a full vehicle test.

Penetration distance

In a crash test, how far the front of the vehicle travels past the barrier line.

Photocell

A light-beam safety sensor that stops an automatic bollard rising when something is in its path.

Reflective band

A high-visibility retroreflective strip near the top of a bollard so drivers and pedestrians can see it at night.

Reinstatement

Making good the surface after installation: relaying paving, patching tarmac or reseeding grass.

Resin anchor

A chemical fixing that bonds a threaded rod into drilled concrete, used for base-plated posts.

Retroreflective

Material that reflects light back towards its source, such as vehicle headlights.

Semi-automatic bollard

A manually operated bollard with a gas strut or spring that does most of the lifting.

Shallow-mount bollard

A rated or unrated bollard system with a shallow foundation, often linked posts on a frame, used where buried services prevent deep digging.

Setting-out

Marking the exact position and spacing of each post on site before digging.

Street works

Work in a public road or footway, which needs a permit or licence from the highway or roads authority.

Telescopic bollard

A manually operated post that slides down into a ground cassette when unlocked.

Tested foundation

The foundation design used in a crash test. Rated performance depends on reproducing it on site.

Traffic management

Signs, cones and barriers used to keep workers and the public safe during work on or near a road.

Visibility band

A contrasting band at a bollard's top so people with low vision can see it; recommended on pedestrian routes.