WHICH? GUIDE TO PARKING

The consumer magazine Which? has produced a guide to parking. It includes sections on Parking Rules; Where To Park; Parking Tickets; Right To Appeal; and Park, Pay & Display.
Further information from Which? at http://www.which.co.uk/ or 0800 432 0022.

THE REGULATIONS AREN'T WORKING

Without getting involved in the legalities of any particular case involving death or injury caused by automatic gate systems, I am keen to highlight the bewildering array of conflicting regulations and lack of policing.
As an installer who regularly works on high profile public sector contracts, I am worried about prosecutions bringing my industry into disrepute and disarray.
It is worth attempting to explain the current, confused regulations. BS EN 13241 is the safety standard for installation, testing and ongoing compliance of automatic gate systems and the standard is now a legal requirement for all gate systems. The obstacle detection system must be tested and accredited to another standard, BS EN 1760-2, which governs quality, durability and failure monitoring to ensure the gate will not function unless the safety system is in good working order. Confusingly, several other standards apply, BS EN 12978, BS EN 12453 and BS EN 445 (test), which are in force.
In my view, these regulations are incomprehensible, unworkable and unenforceable. Moreover, the very people who are supposed to enforce them seem unaquainted with any of them.
It is a fact that no systems installed in the UK before 2008 comply with the existing regulations. More seriously, the vast majority of systems installed since then do not comply because the regulations are largely ignored by installers, many of whom are semi-skilled and have no training. Indeed, potentially lethal automatic gate systems are available on the internet that can be installed by anyone with the ready cash - no questions asked.
If the requirements of BS EN 13241 were to be strictly observed, several hundreds of thousands of existing installations would have to be dumped and replaced.
Also, let us not forget that all systems have to be designed in conjunction with a formal assessment to identify and avoid traps, guard shear points and to protect against impact etc.
In some parts of Europe, if repairs are required on an exixting automatic gate that does not comply, then the entire system must be made compliant. Would Atlas be at fault if we carried out a repair without insisting that the completed system is brought into compliance?
Well, apparently not, but that is only the opinion of the Trading Standards Officer for one of the areas in which we operate.
Joe Baker
Managing Director Atlas Group

Installations should comply with:
BS EN 12978:2003+A1:2009
BS EN 13241-1:2003
BS EN 1760 -2:2001+A1:2009
BS EN 12453:2001

THE END FOR CHEQUE GUARANTEE CARDS

The banks are rushing to phase out cards that also offer a cheque guarantee, usually £100 or £250. This will hit many small businesses who rely on the cards to ensure they will be paid.
What are the options?
1. Insist on payment in cash - an easy way to lose business.
2. Accept a cheque and hope that it doesn't bounce.
3. Paying whatever the banks demand for a chip and pin machine.
The problem with option 3 is that, in the current economic climate, the cost for a small business could easily put them on the brink of bankruptcy.
lloyds for example charges up to £30 per month + VAT to rent a card reader. Add to this 3 percent for credit transactions and 50p per item for debit cards - plus £150 to £200 set up charge. Mobile readers can cost even more.
It could easily cost a small business £800 a year which might be the difference between surviving or going under.
These costs compare to 60p to £1 per cheque with no other overheads.
According to the Payments Council research among businesses accepting guaranteed cheques showed that they made up only 10 percent of all the payments they received.
However, this represents a significat number of firms relying on the guarantee. Let us know what you think.

Turn off your WiFi

Data protection and management specialists Credant Technologies has warned laptop users to turn off their WiFi signals before stowing theirlaptop in the boot of their car or stashing their laptop in the office cupboard or desk drawer, apparently out of sight of thieves. With BTOpenzone recently announcing it had passed the million WiFi access point mark in the UK and with cellular carriers boosting their coverage, WiFi use is expanding very rapidly

But this expansion is accompanied by an increasing availability of low-cost keyfob WiFi detectors, as well as quite sophisticated directional detectors, both of which can be used by thieves to detect the presence of an out of sight laptop. There may not be many of these detectors in the UK at present - but it is only a matter of time.

Credant suggest that the real focus of identity thieves is the company laptop, which, as well as being a saleable item in its own right, can also contain valuable company data that can potentially be sold to the highest bidder online.

And because many of the latest laptops have a set time - sometimes up to 30 minutes - before they go into sleep mode when the laptop lid is shut, it makes shopping centres in particular around 6pm on weekdays a prime source of notebook computers just waiting to be stolen.

That person waving their car keys around, ostensibly trying to find their car, may well be looking for cars emitting a strong WiFi signal.

You may not be able to totally prevent your laptop being stolen, but only switching on the WiFi when it is really needed and, of course, encrypting the data on the notebook drive, will go a long way to preventing your computer becoming just another statistic, and valuable data possibly finishing up in the hands of a competitor.

Chichester to start charging for parking in rural towns

In line with most authorities in Britain, Chichester District Council has decided to begin charging for off street parking in the district's rural towns. This will not start until April 2011, by which time it is predicted the recession will be well and truly over (if you believe anything the government say) and the pressure on the local economy will have eased. This will follow the introduction of CPE in spring of 2010

The intent is to allow the first hour free and then 20p per hour. Not a fortune you may think - anyone who can afford to run a car can afford these charges.

Despite this, there has been massive resistance from local pressure groups and traders. Of course, there is no such thing as "free parking". The costs of running and upkeep all have to be found out of local taxation. However, if the user pays this means the burden falls more fairly on car drivers who really need to park. Now the car parks are full of non-shoppers - tourists, commuters, dog-walkers, and those working in the towns.

This means that shoppers cannot find parking spaces near to the shops and currently have to drive around looking further afield for a place to park, often in the loading bays on the main road. Delivery lorries are then forced to double park causing gridlock for long periods of time, as anyone who has visited the area can confirm. Not only are local drivers inconvenienced by the congestion, but also any prospective visitor or tourist, faced with gridlocked traffic, is unlikely to stop to make a purchase.

In Midhurst for example shoppers can buy meat, veg, chemistry, hardware, greetings cards, pet supplies, stationary, from the high quality shops. The closest alternative sources of local produce are 15 miles away in Haslemere or Petersfield, where parking charges are 60p for 20 minutes.

Revenue controlled parking is resource efficient, ecologically sound, and equitable. That another local authority has seen the light is excellent news for our industry.

New safety standard for automatic gates

Does your gate comply?
As a result of a number of accidents where limbs have been trapped by moving gates, a new safety standard - BSEN 13241 - has been introduced.

The standard has been designed to protect the end user and the installation, testing and ongoing compliance of all automatic gate systems to the new standard is now a legal requirement. The criteria which a swing or sliding gate must meet to comply are:

1. When coming against an obstruction the gate must exert a force of less than 400n. Above this figure and the drive unit must stop. To clear the obstruction the gate must then reverse within 0.75 seconds.

2. The entire leading edge must have an active obstacle detection system up to a height of 2.5 metres, and the system must comply with BSEN1760-2. This standard is designed to ensure the gate will not work unless the system is in full working order.

Atlas is ensuring all new systems comply and have an ongoing programme of advising customers with older installations of the new standard. A number, some over 10 years old, have already upgraded.

If there is any doubt about the compliance of your system contact Atlas. Our engineers are available to advise and quote for retro-fitting a safety package if it is needed.

BSIA highlights benefits of Access Control

Following the British Security Industry Association's recent research into crime in the recession, the Association's access control section is highlighting the benefits that users can gain from access control technology. The research revealed that security remains a key investment for UK plc, despite the difficult economic climate, with 92 per cent of respondents retaining the same level of investment. In a summary report of the research findings, access control was featured as a popular security measure among the respondents.

BSIA access control section chairman, Mike Sussman, stated, "The research report makes for interesting reading and it is worth noting that 14 per cent of respondents are looking to invest in access control as a security measure in the near future".

There are many benefits of using an access control system. One of the main advantages is the provision of increased point of entry security to commercial and industrial sites and buildings, as well as residential premises, both single and multi-occupancy.

The Atlas Group is well placed to utilise the latest access control technology to the benefit of its customers.