Like many features of a house, there are some safety risks associated with garage doors, even if they’re put in place by the best garage door installation company. That’s why garage doors typically come with failsafe mechanisms that prevent the doors from lowering if any object is detected below them. But whether or not your garage door includes such a mechanism, here are some pointers to ensure your family’s safety.
Limit Access
Perhaps not surprisingly, restricting your children’s access to the garage door is one of the best ways to ensure that they won’t be injured by it. Place the door switch high enough so only adults will be able to reach it, and strongly discourage kids from playing with, or playing near, the garage doors.
Garage Doors Aren’t Playthings for Adults, Either
Let’s face it—some people like “to play chicken” with the garage door. While it might be an exciting thrill to slide under a lowering garage door at the last moment, any number of qualified garage door manufacturers and suppliers would strongly advise against this unnecessary risk.
Watch Your Fingers
Under no circumstances should you ever put your fingers between the sections of your garage door. According to Garage Door Child Safety, fingers getting stuck between sections is by far the most common injury related to garage doors. The source states that more than 7,500 such instances—more than triple the amount of people hurt by a door closing on them unexpectedly—occur annually in the United States. If your door gets stuck and you have to open it yourself, pull up on the exterior handles, where your fingers will be far from danger.
Leave Repairs Professionals
DIY home repair can be a great way to save money and give you a sense of personal satisfaction, but if a garage door breaks or merely needs an upgrade, trying to do the job yourself could be an extremely bad idea. It’s not unheard of for a garage door layman to seriously injure him while trying to solve a problem with the apparatus. If your doors’ cables or springs are wearing out, or if some car catastrophe winds up damaging the doors, call a garage door repair professional to make an assessment and fix the problem.
Source: https://www.garagedoorchildsafety.com/injury_report.html