What is a driveway security post?

Driveway security posts are ideal solutions for increasing security and safety around your driveway, protecting your property from unwanted intrusion, damage or theft. Designed to physically withstand significant amounts of force, they present a solid barrier to your property that’s durable in all conditions, convenient to operate and built to last.

Most driveway security posts are positioned at the entrance to your driveway, just in front of or behind where your vehicles are normally parked. They’re chiefly used for residential driveways, but can also be employed in various other types of public or private environments, including:

• Warehouses and factories
• Business or corporate car parks
• Municipal facilities such as police stations or council buildings
• Retail parks, shopping centres and other public places

Despite their wide variety of possible settings parking posts, driveway security and parking bollards tend to be used most in residential environments because of their cost and convenience. Here at Bollard Security we stock a broad range of driveway security posts in an array of sizes and lengths. Most of these are designed to be operated by hand, and encompass several types including telescopic, lift out and bolt down bollards.

Qualities of driveway security posts

• Constructed from steel, iron and specialised plastics
• Weatherproof, with a tough plated anti-corrosion exterior
• High visibility
• Little to no maintenance required
• Available in several colours and finishes
• Hole depths may vary

Key benefits of driveway security posts

Creates a solid physical barrier to boost security and safety around your property

All types of driveway security posts excel in significantly increasing the security of your property, making it substantially more difficult for thieves to take cars, trailers, or caravans. Similarly, they reduce the risk of burglary from your home by making it more difficult to bring getaway vehicles closer to your property, increasing the would-be thieves’ risk of getting caught. For most such people, the visual deterrent of driveway security posts alone is often enough to protect your home from being targeted by criminals.

Prevents intrusion onto your property for unauthorised parking or turning

Not every intrusion onto your property is quite so malicious, but these can be highly irritating and inconvenient nonetheless. Homes in proximity to busy retail centres or shopping areas can frequently find their spaces being used by other unauthorised drivers, sometimes looking to save themselves parking fees. Other residents might find their parking areas frequently being used by other drivers (or even neighbours) to turn round or manoeuvre themselves into a difficult spot, which can be similarly irritating and even sometimes dangerous.

Thankfully, driveway security bollards can be used to demarcate your own parking spaces, and prevent use by unauthorised persons or vehicles.

Protects your home from out-of-control vehicles or difficult driving conditions

Some driveway security bollards are also used for safety purposes on properties which may be at higher risk of traffic collisions – for example, homes located on difficult bends in the road. In this case, particularly solid options like bolt-down bollards can be used to prevent out-of-control vehicles colliding with garden walls, or those of the property itself.

Types of driveway security bollard (and how they work)

Most driveway security bollards tend to fall into three main categories: retractable, removable and bolt-down. Depending on what bollard you’re looking for, these can sometimes be specified in various finishes, as well as optional extras like brightly-coloured powder coatings for extra visibility.

Telescopic bollards

• Retractable
• Cost effective and simple to operate
• Variety of heights, diameters and finishes
• Standard galvanised finish, with optional powder coating
• Awarded both “Sold Secure” and “Secure by Design” accreditations

One of our most popular products here at Bollard Security, telescopic driveway security bollards are affordable, effective and easy to operate, providing a convenient but reliable way for you to increase security on and around your driveway.

Telescopic bollards work by being raised vertically up from a steel tube that’s installed into the concrete below ground level. Once they’re at their full height, they’re locked into place using the integrated locking system. To lower them again, it’s just a matter of unlocking them and carefully lowering them back into the same steel tube. A steel flap is then closed over the exposed top of the bollard, leaving the system flush with the ground and providing easy access to any vehicle coming and going.

Our telescopic bollards can also be specified with an assisted lift feature, which reduces the effective operating weight of the post by up to 60%.

Lift out bollards

• Removable
• Exceptionally cost-effective
• Can be supplied in all colours
• Choose from galvanised steel or brushed satin stainless steel finish

Lift out bollards are ideal options in conditions which might not be favourable for digging full-depth foundations. This sort of driveway security post sits within an outer casing, but instead of being retracted fully into the ground, you can remove the post completely, enabling it to be stored elsewhere.

Their manner of operation differs from telescopic posts, but it’s similarly simple and easy: to unlock them, it’s simply a matter of turning the associated key in the available lock, twisting the handle and then detaching the product from its socket. The lid is then closed over the remaining opening, leaving vehicle access unobstructed.

Bolt-down bollards

• Permanent
• Sturdiest of options
• Multiple colours available

Though they’re not as commonly used in residential settings as telescopic or lift-out bollards, highly secure bolt-down bollards still have several useful applications. Unlike the other two types of driveway security post, they are not removable, so they’re primarily used for permanently blocking access to a space, either for safety or security purposes. For example, they can be positioned just outside a house’s exterior walls, protecting the occupants by preventing drivers parking up from accidentally reversing or accelerating into it.

They can also be used in high-traffic areas, or on properties situated at sharp bends in the road, protecting the house from drivers who might lose control in adverse weather or other difficult driving conditions.

Which type of driveway security post should you choose?

This is a question our experts are often asked here at Bollard Security, and it depends on a number of factors. For many customers, budget is naturally one of the biggest factors, but there are other considerations to take into account too. For example, you need to think about the space you’ll be protecting, and its size and layout. How big are the vehicles that will be coming and going across it, and how often will they need to access the property? The ease and speed with which the bollards can be erected and taken down may therefore form another crucial part of your decision.

And of course, you can always count on our experts are to provide advice or guidance here at Bollard Security. Don’t hesitate to give us a call on 01756 636 196, and we’ll be happy to see how we can help!