What is a Chapter 8 Barrier?

When Chapter 8 barriers are being discussed what they are typically referring to is pedestrian barriers, roadwork barriers or just simply a plastic barrier.

These roadway barriers are commonly used but not restricted to Utilities, Highway, Civil, Road works, Events and Construction sites.

Plastic pedestrian barriers are highly visible and often in the colours red or orange with red and white reflective to make them easy to locate so they can be used in the daytime and in low light situations.

When plastic pedestrian barriers are manufactured they are made up of HDPE which is high density polyethylene, with most manufactures opting for the blow moulded approach due to the lightweight benefits while other manufactures have carried out an injection moulded approach which is to add more stability to the barriers.

An example of an injection moulded plastic pedestrian barrier is the Titan 2m Barrier which can be seen below on the manufactures website.

An example of a blow moulded barrier is the Firmus 2m Barrier which is a plastic pedestrian barrier and this can be seen on the manufactures website.

What does Chapter 8 mean?

Chapter 8 is a piece of legislation which is also know in the industry as the Red Book, it sets the standards to support you when carrying out road works on all highways to ensure that all street and road works are safe for both the operatives and the pedestrians.

This means that to conform to these standards you need to have suitable equipment such as chapter 8 barriers, this will ensure your operations are legal and are being done in best practise from an plastic pedestrian barrier standpoint.

Here is a link to the legislation.

This legislation also states the standards of which a plastic pedestrian barrier needs to meet for the required works, such chapter 8 barriers must conform to the British standards BS EN8442 and EN12899-2.

Making sure you have a compliant barrier is essential and a failure to comply is an illegal offence.

Plastic barriers or metal barriers?

This is a question we often get asked and although it depends on the site situation and environment to some extent, we believe that there isn’t something a metal barrier can do that a plastic pedestrian barrier can’t also achieve, with the chapter 8 barriers having further benefits.

Here are a few advantages to using a plastic barrier:

• Available in a wide range of colours
• High Visibility from colours and red & white reflective
• Lightweight strength
• Choice of feet such as Anti Trip feet
• Stackable – often fitting 40 + per pallet
• Less chance of injury to users
• Branding options
• Easy connecting points often hook and eye
• Durability

Can chapter 8 barriers come in different colours?

Yes absolutely, this is a benefit of using a plastic pedestrian barrier over a metal barrier. The opportunity to have a different style barrier in terms of colour or feet allows the company to tailor the product more to their site.

Companies will often take advantage of this by having bespoke barriers made with their company logo and in their company colours. This is a great branding tool as it allows you to get free advertising for the duration the barriers are being used, to us this is a no brainer and why we offer this service to our clients.

OAKEYS recommendations for your Chapter 8 barriers

A chapter 8 barrier which ticks all the boxes in terms of price, customization and quality is the Firmus 2m Barrier which was mentioned above.

Very competitively priced via our online store – here is a link to the product and to the manufacture’s website.

If you are looking to purchase some bespoke plastic traffic barriers, then get in touch and we will be able to support in getting your compliant chapter 8 barriers to site fully branded.

If you need further support, then head to our website and make contact with the team.

Traffic Barriers and Traffic Cones

Looking for very competitive and high quality traffic management products?

OAKEYS has a growing range of traffic management products to ensure for excellent traffic safety on site.

These products can be used as highways traffic management barriers, roadway barriers, water filled barriers, plastic traffic barriers and road safety barriers.

Suitable for highways, roadworks, construction, utilities, events and traffic management companies.

The range consists of Chapter 8 pedestrian barriers, traffic cones, road separators, verge posts, grit bins and post and chain.

Including red and white water filled barriers.

Branded road safety barriers and branded plastic traffic cones.

For your traffic management needs, take a look at our excellent range of high quality and cost effective products.

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