Anti-terrorism vehicle barriers are divided into two main categories: active and passive. Active barriers open and close to either allow or prevent vehicle access, while passive barriers do not open and close, they always block vehicle access. (There are also hybrid barriers, but we'll get to those later.) Most visitors to our website are interested in active barriers, so we will confine our discussion to those.
Active barriers can be either permanent or temporary. Permanent barriers have a below-grade steel substructure that is cemented in place. They provide continuous protection at a single location. Temporary Barriers — which rest on the road surface — are designed to be set up and removed quickly. They can be set up at any location and are usually used for extra security at high-profile events or during a threat escalation. Temporary barriers work by sliding along the ground to dissipate the attacking vehicle's energy, so they allow some amount of vehicle penetration into the protected area. The table below describes the main types of active barriers and has brief comments about other categories.
| CATEGORY |
TYPE |
DESCRIPTION |
Active
(opens & closes)
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Permanent
(embedded in place)
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Wedge barriers get their name because of their wedge shape when viewed from the side. They are sometimes called plate barriers because the most common type uses a steel plate angled toward the approaching vehicle. |
| Beam barriers use a beam extending across the road. Usually the beam swings vertically to allow the vehicle to pass, but horizontal swinging versions and telescoping beams are also available. |
| Bollards are vertical cylinders (the name derives from the large cylinders used on wharves to tie down ships). Bollards that retract into the ground are active barriers (whereas non-retractable bollards are widely used for permanent perimeter security around a facility). |
Temporary
(removable) |
Mobile barriers are self-contained trailers licensed for over-the-road travel that can be pulled by a heavy-duty pickup truck. The barrier is moved into position across a roadway, the axle and wheels disengage, and the barrier is lowered onto the roadbed. |
| Portable barriers are essentially identical to mobile barriers, except they do not have wheels and are not configured as over-the-road trailers. They are typically trucked to their deployment site and then placed on the roadbed using a forklift or mobile crane. |
Passive
(permanently closed) |
Contact Us for more information |
Primarily for perimeter security protection rather than vehicle access control |
| Hybrid |
Have attributes that span Categories and/or Types |
| Custom |
We frequently design custom barriers for end users or serve as the behind-the-scenes designers for other barrier manufacturers. See Engineering Services. |
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Within the above types there are dozens of variations offered by different manufacturers. And there are some designs — called hybrids — that have attributes from multiple types. To illustrate the point, our Arrestor and LightFoot models are active permanent barrier that have the fast operation characteristic of wedge barriers, while having the open, aesthetically pleasing appearance of slower acting beam barriers.
This summary only begins to scratch the surface of anti-terrorism vehicle barrier designs, so Contact Us if you would like to know more. We will be glad to help you determine the best barrier configuration for your site. Return to FAQs.
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 Our Arrestor model has both
wedge and beam attributes
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