Pedestrian Guardrail – What is BS 7818:1995?

When answering the question “Pedestrian Guardrail – What is BS 7818:1995?” a useful starting point is to understand what is meant by a British Standard.

The British Standards Institute (BSI) is appointed by the UK Government as the National Standards body. Formed in 1901, BSI was the world’s first National Standards Body.  It adopts a collaborative approach, engaging with industry experts, government bodies, trade associations, businesses of all sizes and consumers to develop standards that reflect good business practice.

The role of the National Standards body is to help improve the quality and safety of products, services and systems by enabling the creation of standards and encouraging their use.

Each year BSI publishes over 2,700 standards to help improve performance and manage risk, while enabling businesses to operate in a more efficient and sustainable way.

As a quality assured company, Alpha Rail, is dedicated to manufacturing excellence and all the pedestrian guardrail we manufacture is fabricated in accordance to British Standards.

What is BS 7818:1995?

The BSI which relates to pedestrian restraint systems in metal is BS 7818:1995.

BS 7818:1995 specifies the requirements for pedestrian and other non-vehicle user restraint systems in metal for use on roads and highways. It specifies technical details such as:

• The thickness and grade of metal
• The distance between the infill bars
• The depth of foundations at which the guardrail should be rooted into the ground
• The bend stress the guardrails must endure
• Its durability

With over thirty years’ experience, Alpha Rail is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of pedestrian guardrail.

Our pedestrian guardrail models can be classified into five categories:

• Standard pedestrian guardrail
• Optirail™high visibility guardrail
• Decorative pedestrian guardrails
• Pedestrian Parapet Guardrail
• Pedestrian walkways within logistics depots

We offer a range of pedestrian guardrail solutions in a range of designs and colour options. We can also assist with on-site surveys. We have specialist teams who use industry leading measuring equipment to calculate the exact rake and curvatures of the guardrail required, as well as tailor the stagger of the solid infill bars to ensure optimum visibility for both drivers and pedestrians, without compromising on safety.

All of our pedestrian guardrails will be manufactured to satisfy the requirements of BS 7818:1995 and the subsequent loading requirements of class 1, class 2, class 3 or class 4.

As the preferred supplier to many local authorities and civil engineering contractors we have developed our reputation for quality and many project managers respect the expertise and technical advice we can bring to their highways projects where pedestrian safety is of paramount importance.

To view some of our recent pedestrian guardrail projects please visit our projects library.

If your next road building or road maintenance project involves the installation of pedestrian guardrail or P4 pedestrian parapet systems and you would like to enquire how Alpha Rail can help please complete the enquiry form below or call 01623 750 214.