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3 Ways Children Can Get Hurt By Garage Doors
Loïc Lecomte
As every parent knows, children can sometimes be little daredevils. Every parent should take time to make sure their yards and the living areas in their homes are safe, even when their children role play as Tarzan or Houdini. But what about the garage? Here are 3 ways that some children have gotten hurt by garage doors while playing in the garage.
Rushing underneath the garage door & getting trapped
A 3-year-old girl in Maryland hit the button for the garage door opener and ran to get underneath the garage door as it was closing. Unfortunately, the door pinned the little girl and killed her. It's difficult to know why this little girl was tempting fate, given her age, but some children may see this as a game or a challenge similar to what's seen on the popular television show American Gladiators.
There should be sensors at the bottom of garage doors that tell the garage door to stop closing and go into reverse when it senses that something is in the way. There should also be a reversing mechanism that activates when the garage door comes in contact with something other than the floor as it closes.
Test these garage door safety sensors by tossing a soccer ball or other ball of similar size through the garage door opening as the garage door closes. Also, place a full paper towel roll on the floor underneath the garage door to see if the reverse mechanism works properly. If either of these sensors don't work, call a garage door service for repairs.
Playing with the hand strap & getting strangled
A 10-year-old boy was found strangled to death in a garage door hand strap. These straps are used to operate garage doors when the opening system is disconnected or there is no opening system in place. The strap that he got strangled in was too long and too easy for him to reach.
To prevent children from playing with a garage door hand strap, the strap should be short. That way, it won't dangle and dare the child to swing on it or grab it. Also, it should not have a loop at the end large enough to slip over someone's head. If the strap is too long or if there is a loop at the end, ask a garage door service to replace the strap for one that meets current safety regulations that prevent this type of accident.
Riding the door & falling off
A 10-year-old boy suffered a severe head injury while riding a garage door. As odd as it may sound, riding garage doors has become a game. There are videos on the Internet that show garage door riding as a fun pastime. Unfortunately, children can fall from the garage door and hit their head on the concrete below, or their fingers or limbs can get trapped in between the panels as the garage door moves, causing them to dangle from the garage door.
Your garage door opener should have a safety device that shuts down when weight is added to the door. However, most have adjustments that tell the opener how heavy the door is so it can operate safely when opening and closely the door. This adjustment can be increased to tell the opening system that the garage door is heavier, such as to compensate for the additional weight of a mechanically-savvy teenager who wants to ride the garage door. Speak with your garage door service technician to learn about safety devices that can be retrofitted onto your existing garage door opener to prevent children from manipulating the weight adjustments.
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