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Automatic garage door openers are a great convenience. If they are not properly designed or used, however, they can represent one of the most deadly appliances in your home .
Since 1982 at least 46 children have died and many others injured while playing around automatic garage door openers. Caution in selecting and operating these modem conveniences is necessary for your family's safety.
Most deaths from automatic garage door openers occur when a door fails to automatically reverse after it strikes a person. Because of the weight of the door and the force exerted by the automatic opener, an object can be crushed before the door stops.
Manufacturers are just now realizing the need for stronger standards to ensure the safety of these automatic openers. In September of 1990 Underwriters Laboratories held a conference to discuss voluntary standards to improve the automatic reverse safety features of the product.
Only two states, California and Minnesota , have mandatory safety standards for openers. Federal legislation has been proposed which would apply to Texas as well as the rest of the nation.
Manufacturers of newer models have changed their design to automatically reverse when the door strikes an object. Many older models will not automatically reverse, particularly those made before 1982.
Because there are no mandatory federal or Texas standards, it is important that the homeowner be aware of the safety features of their unit, and if it poses a potential danger, replaces it.
The Minnesota Safety Council makes these recommendations for automatic garage door openers:
- Buy only door openers approved by Underwriters Laboratories
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- Make sure the door moves freely and is properly balanced;
- Be sure the wall-mounted button for the door opener
is out of the reach of children and that they do not
have access to portable transmitters;
- Test the door's automatic reverse safety mechanism
at least once a month and disconnect the opener if the
reverse does not work; and
- Never duck beneath a descending garage door and warn
your children about this hazard.
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