A garage door is the largest moving object in a home. Garage doors are heavy
and can exert deadly force when the door closes. This could lead to serious
injury or death for someone hit by a closing garage door or trapped under
the door. Following garage door safety precautions will protect you and your
family from harm and injury.

Before the mid 1980s, electric (or automatic) garage doors didn’t have
safety features to prevent injury. Accidents, including those damaging
vehicles, were on the rise. Today, law requires all electric garage doors
and garage door openers to include safety features. The safety features are
intended to prevent entrapment. The most significant safety devices you can
have installed on your garage door are sensors. Sensors cause the garage
door to reverse before it comes into contact with any object.

DASMA (Door and Access System Manufacturers Association International) and
the CPSC (Consumer Products Safety Commission) have detailed many of the
important safety precautions:

. Don’t stand or walk under a moving garage door.
. Never allow children to play with garage door openers.
. Keep the garage door wall button control at least 5 feet from the
floor. Make sure the button is in a place where you can see the garage door.
. Don’t allow children to play under or near an open garage door.
. Inspect your garage door for proper safety features including:
tamper-resistant brackets, safety cables and sensors.
. Maintain your garage door. Conduct an annual inspection of your
garage do. Perform a reversal test to check that the garage door reverses
when it senses an object in its path.

Additional Garage Door Safety Tips

1. Don’t DIY. Garage door repairs and installation should be left to the
pros.

2. Follow your garage door manufacturer’s instructions for garage door use
and care.

3. Educate your children about garage door safety. Young children learn
their habits from their parents. Setting a good example of garage door
safety habits will help your children develop safe habits.

4. Tend to garage door problems. Changes in the functioning of your garage
door could indicate a problem. Check all changes promptly. Don’t ignore a
persistently squeaking garage door.

Marcy Tate is a blogger at Networx.com.
She has been writing about garage
doors for over a decade.