Chapter 8 Barriers

Some of our most popular pedestrian safety barriers are the standard interlocking 2-metre units such as the Avalon. These barriers are ideal for use around road works, construction sites, and areas under maintenance. Due to their length they can be connected together to produce one long string of barriers to keep unwanted pedestrians from wandering into unsafe areas.

We also frequently see these used at events to guide pedestrians safely as a group in and out of a venue or keep them from restricted and potentially dangerous areas. By using a barrier system such as these if anyone does “break the line” and end up where they are not meant to be, you know that they must have made a conscious effort to circumvent the barricade.

Even within a cordoned off area on a large site, it is important to prevent workers from accidentally stumbling into open works and excavations. Larger barriers would not be practical in this application as there is often not the room around the job; this is where folding barriers come in very handy.

Folding barriers are generally designed to surround trenches or open manholes ensuring that workers or the public (when used outside of a cordon) do not stumble into open trenches for gas, drainage, electrical or telecoms work.

Although these units generally clip together to form a square some can be extended to surround slightly larger rectangular excavations or pits. The great thing about folding barricades is that a subcontractor in a small van can easily pack the barrier into a van taking up minimal space leaving plenty of room for tools.

Concertina barriers are relatively new to the safety scene and are a great solution for indoor portable barrier requirements. They are therefore very popular with electrical contractors, cleaners and maintenance workers who need a lightweight, compact and most importantly easy to transport pedestrian barrier.

Two of these barricades can easily be used to restrict access to an aisle in a supermarket whilst cleaning is taking place, and then very easily stored in a cupboard or cleaning cupboard ready for use another time without taking up too much space.

If you are using your barriers on the public highway or around road works it is required by law that chapter 8 compliant items are used. Chapter 8 barriers are a specific type of road safety barrier and are required to meet certain regulations to make them safe for road use. One of these stipulations is that the barrier must have a reflective strip to make it visible at night or in adverse conditions.

Any barriers with reflective striping within this category are 100% compliant with chapter 8 regulations when used correctly, directions as to how to use them correctly can be found here: https://startsafety.uk/regulations

There are some situations where you do not need Chapter 8 compliant items, such as off-road use on private land to mark out parking areas at events, pedestrian walkways (not next to a public road) or when using barriers indoors.

Why are they called Chapter 8 Barriers?

The name comes from the government guidelines that allow contractors to safely and consistently place roadworks on the UK's road network. The guidelines cover many points, but mostly outline that the barriers should be visible day and night, and their four key use cases: for pedestrian control, traffic barriers for lane delineation, barriers for zoning off areas and vehicle restraint barriers.

What size are Chapter 8 Barriers?

Chapter 8 barriers come in a range of sizes that allow them to fulfill their different roles. The most common types are the 2-metre-long pedestrian-style barriers. These can be flat-packed onto a pallet and stand at 1 metre tall. Other common chapter 8 barriers include water-filled options that tend to be 1 metre long and stand anywhere between 500mm and 1.5 metres tall.

What are Chapter 8 Barrier regulations?

The Chapter 8 regulations are government guidelines that set out how street works and signage should be deployed. You can find a link to them on this page: Chapter 8 Traffic Management.