Gate operator manufacturers, other groups provide input as Nevada develops gate system legislation

Nevada has become the first state to enact legislation requiring that all electrically powered vehicular access gates installed on and after March 1, 2000 comply with provisions of the recently published Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Standard for Safety 325, reports the Door and Access Systems Manufacturers Association (DASMA). UL 325 is a comprehensive standard addressing a variety of electrically operated products, including gate operators, DASMA noted. The provisions of UL 325 focus on protection from entrapment. The standard applies to electrically powered vehicular access gates by requiring both a primary and a secondary means of entrapment protection, defining vehicular classes, accounting for popular types of gates, listing various entrapment protection device options, specifying parameters associated with audible alarms, and providing requirements for warning signage. Instructions associated with gate construction and installation are also included in the standard. DASMA, in cooperation with the Nevada Manufacturers Association (NMA), the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA), the American Fence Association (AFA), and the Associated General Contractors of America, worked with the Nevada State Legislature toward the final version of the bill. All cooperating organizations support passage of the bill as enacted, DASMA noted. The legislation (SB 302) was sponsored by Sen. Bill R. O'Donnell (R.- 5th District), and was scheduled to be signed into law by Gov. Kenny Guinn in June. The legislation would go into effect on March 1, 2000. For more information, contact DASMA at its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio at 216-241-7333 or e-mail: dasma@taol.com. This article is reprinted from the July 1999 issue of World Fence News