Everyone knows that having a safe garage door is important. But did you know that in some places, including California, it’s also required by law?

Garage doors can be a safety hazard for numerous reasons. For starters, they are heavy and can cause serious injury or death if they fall on a person or a vehicle. Garage doors have many different components, so it’s important to keep your garage door up-to-date with its inspections to make sure everything is working properly. Garage doors can even have problems that you won’t be able to detect with an untrained eye, so it’s essential to schedule a garage door safety inspection with a technician to make sure it is safe for use.

Garage Door Safety Laws

There are several different layers of laws that govern garage door safety. Santa Maria garage doors are subject to the state laws of California, but there are also federal laws concerning garage door safety and safety inspections.

In California, one of the major garage door safety laws is California Health and Safety Code Chapter 12.5. This law has instructions for installing garage door sensors. Garage doors were modified in the mid-1990s to have new and improved safety sensor systems. Garage doors with modern safety sensors are designed to not slam shut if a person or an object is their path. Garage doors made on or after the date of the sensor law must have the new sensor technology installed, or the owner can be fined. After the law was introduced, garage door openers become must safer. Now, garage doors offer better protection to humans, pets, and vehicles that may be passing through the garage door’s path when it starts to close. Along with protecting living beings and vehicles, the California law also helps prevent damage to garage doors. Garage doors can become bent, cracked, or even break if they come into contact with a vehicle or another object. To ensure the best protection for Santa Maria garage doors, the law is updated every 10 years to ensure it captures all the latest safety technology. A garage door company can perform garage door safety inspections as needed to ensure your garage door complies with the latest laws.

Senate Bill Number 969

Senate Bill number 969 is another law covering the issue of garage door safety. This bill has a provision that in addition to being safe, garage door openers must also have a backup battery system so that the garage doors are still operational in case the power goes out. This bill was created in response to natural disasters that can necessitate evacuations and cause widespread power outages such as earthquakes and forest fires. Although many garage doors can also be operated manually in case the electricity goes out, garage doors are heavy, and attempting to lift them can either cause serious injury to certain people. Others may not be able to open their garage door at all. Senate Bill number 969 is designed to help people safely evacuate or otherwise leave their homes in the event of an emergency. As with other laws, new garage doors made after the law took effect must have a backup battery at the time they are installed. People who have new garage doors installed by a garage door company without the backup battery may be fined.

Along with the California rules, there is a federal law regarding garage door opener safety that took effect in 2018. The law requires garage door openers to reverse a garage door’s direction and raise the door in no more than two seconds if it senses an object under a closing door.

To learn more about garage door safety and schedule a garage door safety inspection, contact us today.

View our gallery of steel garage doors here.