What each device is for
These are not really competing products; they are different jobs. Most working entrances use two or three of them together.
| Device | What it does | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Boom barrier | Meters traffic one vehicle at a time; fast cycle; clear visual signal | Stop a determined driver — a boom is a signal, not a wall |
| Spike barrier | Enforces direction; stops a vehicle taking the lane the wrong way | Stop a vehicle travelling in the permitted direction |
| Sliding or swing gate | Closes the opening completely when the site is shut | Cycle fast enough to meter busy traffic |
| Bollards | Protect a building line or pedestrian area from vehicle impact | Control traffic flow on their own |
Throughput and queueing
A boom barrier cycles in a few seconds, so the limit at a vehicle entrance is almost never the barrier — it is the credential. A driver winding down a window to present a card or speak to a guard is the slow step, and that is what sizes the queue.
If the entrance backs into a public road at peak, the answers are more lanes, faster identification (long-range tags, licence-plate recognition) or moving the decision away from the boom — not a faster boom.
Separate staff from visitors and from heavy vehicles wherever the site allows it. A single lane that must handle a delivery truck, a visitor who needs signing in, and forty staff arriving at once will fail at the worst moment.
Unmanned entrances
An unmanned vehicle entrance changes the requirements more than most designs allow for. There is nobody to override a fault, nobody to stop a vehicle tailgating through, and nobody to notice damage.
- Loop and sensor logic must be right — the barrier must never come down on a vehicle, and it must close behind one vehicle rather than staying open for the next
- Direction enforcement matters far more; this is where a spike barrier earns its place
- Power-failure behaviour and battery backup, with load-shedding assumed rather than hoped against
- A manual release the security company can actually operate, and a documented procedure
- Lighting and camera coverage at the lane — an unmanned entrance with no picture of it is not controlled, it is merely gated
Pedestrians at a vehicle entrance
The most common security failure at a vehicle gate is a person walking through beside a car. A boom controls a vehicle; it does nothing about a pedestrian.
Put a separate controlled pedestrian lane next to the vehicle lane and make it the obvious route — a full-height turnstile at an unmanned entrance, a speedstile where there is a gatehouse. Keeping the two flows physically apart is a safety requirement in its own right, not only a security one.
Specifying the entrance
Give a supplier the lane width, the traffic mix and peak, the direction rules, whether it is manned, what identifies the vehicle, and what happens when the power is off. That is enough for a comparable quote.
iMAT manufactures boom and spike barriers and the gates and guard booths that go with them, locally, with a two-year guarantee on vehicle barrier equipment. Tell us about the entrance and we will spec the combination.
Common questions
Does a boom barrier stop a vehicle?
No. A boom barrier meters traffic and signals a stop; it is not designed to physically restrain a vehicle that drives through it. Where physical prevention is needed, that is the job of a spike barrier in the wrong direction, a closed gate, or bollards.
What is a spike barrier used for?
Direction enforcement. Spikes lie flat for traffic in the permitted direction and stop a vehicle attempting the lane the wrong way, which is what makes them valuable at unmanned entrances and exit-only lanes.
How do I stop people walking in through the vehicle gate?
Provide a separate controlled pedestrian lane beside it — a full-height turnstile at an unmanned entrance, or a speedstile at a manned one — and route pedestrians to it physically, not just with signage.