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Door safety relates to prevention of door-related accidents. Such accidents take place in various forms, and in a number of locations; ranging from car doors to garage doors. Accidents vary in severity and frequency; however within the US, governmental departments have begun legislating to reduce the number of accidents that occur in doors. According to the National Safety Council, 300,000 injuries are caused by doors every year.

Because of the number of accidents taking place, there has been a surge in the number of law suits. As organisations are at risk when car doors or doors within buildings are unprotected, businesses have begun offering solutions (such as door guards) to neutralise the threat posed by doors. A closing door can exert up to 40 tons per square inch of pressure between the hinges.

According to the U.S. General Services Administration, Child Care Center Design Guide, June 1998:

"...It is essential that children's fingers be protected from being crushed or otherwise injured in the hinge space of a swinging door or gate. There are simple devices available to attach to the hinge side, ensuring that this type of injury does not occur. As the door closes, the hand is pushed out of the opening, away from harm. In addition, young children are vulnerable to injury when they fall against the other (hinged) side of doors and gates, striking projected hinges. Piano hinges are not recommended to alleviate this problem as they tend to sag over time with heavy use. Instead, an inexpensive device fitting over hinges is available on the market and should be used to ensure safety..."

What do people have to say about Door Safety? I found this comment on greatdad and I thought that it might interest other parents!

Dads, kids and lost fingers - warning to dads of toddlers 16 May 2006 by paulbanas

Dads, kids and lost fingers - warning to dads of toddlers Dads and their small kids share another thing in common -- a greater risk of losing fingers.

A study in the Annals of Emergency Medicine reports that children lose fingers to opening and closing doors. Men lose theirs to power tools.

The study found that about 28,000 people go to the emergency rooms in the US and that the greatest concentration is kids under 5 and men between 55 and 64. Among kids, a full 73% fell prey to closing doors, while 47% of the older male's amputations were due to power tools.

The recommendation is to install pinch guards on doors and to watch carefully when kids are playing near them. Another solution is the Fingershield, which covers the area I consider more dangerous, behind the door near the hinges where little hands can get caught without being seen. As a dad who recently came milliseconds from taking off several of his son's fingers in a closing door, I strongly advise taking this one seriously. This accident can happen very quickly when little kids are playing behind a door while an adult is preoccupied with saying goodbye to friends or signing for a delivery.

The comment above was posted at greatdad.com

In my opinion I thought that Door Safety is an important issue for parents and I am confident that other parents feel the same. Without having information about the danger and solutions available this issue will always be a statistic.

Door guards

Door guards (also known as hinge guards , anti-finger trapping devices and / or finger guards) protect fingers in door hinges. Door guards do this by covering the gap that is created by opening doors by covering the hinges of doors with a piece of rubber that wraps from the door frame to the door.

The purpose of door guards is to reduce the number of finger trapping accidents in doors, as doors pose a risk to children especially when closing.

See also

• Safety
• Risk management

References

External links

• US General Services Administration
• National Safety Council
• DTI S.M.A.R.T Award

• Accidents
• Child safety
• Doors
• Occupational safety
• Risk analysis
• Safety
• Safety engineering