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How to Design Security Bollards That Actually Protect a Site

A practical guide to designing security bollards around tested vehicle-impact performance, site engineering, vehicle access, pedestrian movement and long-term governance.

By ThatPainter Team 18 October 2026
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Design security bollards as one part of a site-specific vehicle security barrier (VSB) system, not as standalone street furniture. Define the vehicle threat and protected assets first, select a barrier with relevant impact-test evidence, then design foundations, access control, pedestrian routes, evacuation, installation and maintenance around that tested configuration. A bollard’s appearance or ordinary traffic function does not prove hostile-vehicle performance.

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Start with the security outcome, not a bollard catalogue

The first design question is not “Which bollard should we buy?” It is “What must the site prevent, and under what operating conditions?” Identify the vehicles that could be used, likely approach routes, expected speed and impact angle, the assets and people at risk, and the consequences of penetration. State the operational outcome as well: must authorised vehicles pass daily, occasionally, or never; must emergency services retain access; and who will operate, inspect and maintain the barrier?

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ISO 22343-2:2023 describes this process as producing operational requirements (ORs) and selecting, installing and using a VSB. The standard is aimed at site owners and specifiers and covers threat, assets, site assessment, traffic management, aesthetics, impact performance, vehicle speed and impact angle. Its scope is vehicle attacks; it does not, by itself, address blast, ballistic impact, electrical manipulation, attacks on control systems, several manual attacks, or slow-speed encroachment, nudging and ramming. If those hazards matter, they require separate risk controls.

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Record the assumptions behind the design. A later change in vehicle fleet, gate operation, road geometry or adjacent land can invalidate the original security rationale even when the bollards have not moved.

What makes a bollard crash-rated?

A crash-rated bollard is a vertical barrier element supplied in a configuration that has been tested against a defined vehicle impact method and achieved a stated performance. The evidence must cover the complete system: bollard, foundation, reinforcement, installation depth, spacing arrangement, controls where applicable and the tested ground conditions. A product brochure, decorative sleeve, “security” label or ordinary traffic-duty description is not evidence of a hostile-vehicle rating.

The UK National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) states that vertical elements selected to prevent vehicle access should be fit for purpose and successfully tested and rated to a listed standard. Ask the manufacturer or specialist to provide the certificate or test report, the exact test configuration, vehicle and impact conditions, penetration result, installation drawings and any limitations. Confirm that the supplied model and foundation are identical, or demonstrably equivalent, to what was tested.

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ISO 22343-1:2023 specifies impact-performance requirements and a vehicle impact test method for rating a VSB after a single impact by a test vehicle. Secured by Design explains that it supersedes IWA 14-1 and PAS 68. A rating is therefore meaningful only when the threat scenario and the tested configuration match your project; it is not a universal pass for every vehicle, angle or repeated attack.

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Which bollard standard should I specify?

Document What it addresses How to use it in a specification
ISO 22343-2:2023 (Edition 1, September 2023) Application guidance: operational requirements, selection, site assessment, installation, use and performance assessment. Use it to structure the risk assessment, layout, operations, civil works and acceptance process. It is not itself an impact rating.
ISO 22343-1:2023 Impact-performance requirements and a test method for a VSB following a single vehicle impact. Specify the required tested performance and demand evidence for the exact system configuration.
IWA 14 and BSI PAS 68 Earlier impact-test schemes referenced in UK guidance. The NPSA guide notes that PAS 68 has been withdrawn and replaced by BS ISO 22343. Secured by Design says products previously tested to PAS 68 remain acceptable; confirm what your authority and security professional will accept.
PAS 170-1:2017 A low-speed, single-bollard assessment, typically relevant to accidental impacts. Do not present it as a full-scale hostile-vehicle impact test; Secured by Design explicitly distinguishes it from that type of test.

Keep the standards separate in tender documents: one clause for application and operational requirements, another for impact testing and acceptance evidence. Ask the approving authority whether legacy IWA 14 or PAS 68 results are acceptable for the project rather than assuming ratings are interchangeable.

How do I design bollards for extra security?

1. Define the threat and protected assets

Map vehicle approach paths and identify where a vehicle could gain momentum. Consider delivery trucks, cars, buses, service vehicles and emergency vehicles separately if their mass, dimensions or operating patterns differ. Identify façades, entrances, queues, assembly areas, utilities and other assets whose loss would create unacceptable harm. Set the required penetration limit and the operational response after an impact.

2. Survey the site before choosing a layout

Carry out a joint security, civil and traffic survey. The ISO application guidance calls for review of existing arrangements, site and traffic conditions, topography, available space, land ownership, buried services and civil works. Locate drainage, ducts, trees, basements, retaining walls and foundations that could constrain excavation. Verify who controls each strip of land and who can close or maintain it.

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Involve security managers, facilities staff, transport operators, emergency services, disability-access specialists, public-realm designers and people who use the entrance every day. A security measure that blocks an evacuation route or creates a collision hazard can introduce a different critical risk.

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3. Select an evidence-backed system

Write the performance requirement before naming a product. Require the applicable standard, test vehicle, impact conditions, impact angle, penetration result, foundation drawing and installation method. Request confirmation that the production unit, anchorage, spacing and ground build-up match the tested arrangement. If a supplier proposes a substitution, treat it as a design change requiring technical review, not as an equivalent by default.

4. Design movement, access and evacuation together

Fixed bollards may provide continuous protection but can complicate servicing and emergency access. Movable, removable or controlled-access elements introduce operational dependencies: power, communications, key control, fail-safe behavior, inspection and response time. Define who authorises openings, how an opening is secured when unattended, and what happens during a power or control-system failure.

Use the UK Department for Transport guidance on pedestrian movement, streetscape integration and evacuation flow. TAL 02/13 addresses the effect of bollard schemes on pedestrian movement; TAL 01/11 covers vehicle security barriers within the streetscape; and TAL 01/16 examines evacuation flow. Maintain an obvious, step-free pedestrian route, preserve sightlines and avoid creating pinch points where people queue beside a vehicle approach.

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5. Engineer the foundations and interfaces

The bollard is only as effective as its connection to the ground. Check the tested foundation depth, reinforcement, concrete specification, edge distances and drainage against the actual soil, pavement, slab, basement or retaining-wall condition. Coordinate ducts, power, hydraulic equipment, drainage and inspection chambers before concrete is placed. Where the tested arrangement cannot be reproduced, obtain an engineered design and an authority-approved basis for any deviation.

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Protect the transition between the bollard line and adjacent walls, gates, planters or kerbs. An unprotected gap can become the easiest route around an otherwise strong barrier. Confirm that the barrier line remains continuous after landscaping, resurfacing and utility work.

6. Plan installation, commissioning and acceptance

Use the manufacturer’s installation method and appoint competent civil and security contractors. Inspect excavation, reinforcement, embedment, alignment, concrete placement, curing and drainage before backfilling. For powered systems, test detection, controls, interlocks, emergency release and recovery after a power interruption.

ISO 22343-2 identifies assessment at early design, during commissioning and after final installation. Commissioning should verify both security and safe operation: measure clearances, observe vehicle and pedestrian movements, confirm signage and lighting, test access permissions and record as-built foundations and cable routes. Retain the test evidence and acceptance records with the asset register.

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How far apart should security bollards be?

There is no universal spacing that makes every bollard line secure. The clear distance must be derived from the tested system, the vehicle threat, the approach geometry and the consequence of a vehicle passing between elements. A spacing that works for one test configuration may not provide the same protection for a different vehicle, angle, kerb height or surface.

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Designers should demonstrate that the protected opening cannot be exploited by the specified vehicle envelope, including its wheels, overhangs and steering path. Check the ends of the line, corners, slopes and changes in level as carefully as the regular bays. Then verify that the resulting route still accommodates wheelchairs, mobility aids, luggage, prams, maintenance equipment and evacuation flow. If a manufacturer cites a maximum clear distance, ask for the source drawing, measurement method and applicability to your exact system; do not convert an isolated diagram into a general rule.

Compare feasible systems on more than impact strength

Decision area Questions to answer Evidence to retain
Threat performance Which vehicle, speed, angle and penetration outcome are required? Applicable test report, rating and limitations.
Site engineering Can the tested foundation and buried services fit the ground, utilities and topography? Survey, structural design, utility records and installation drawings.
Operations Who opens the route, how often, under what authority and what happens on failure? Traffic-management plan, control logic, emergency procedure and maintenance responsibility.
People and public realm Are pedestrian, accessible and evacuation routes direct, visible and unobstructed? Movement analysis, evacuation review, lighting and streetscape drawings.
Lifecycle governance Who inspects, repairs, replaces and approves future changes? Asset register, inspection schedule, residual-risk log and change-control process.

Common specification mistakes and how to avoid them

  • Choosing by appearance: Decorative stainless steel, cast iron or heavy-looking sections may have no vehicle-impact evidence. Demand a relevant test report.
  • Confusing application guidance with testing: ISO 22343-2 helps you select and apply a VSB; ISO 22343-1 addresses impact performance. Cite both roles correctly.
  • Using a low-speed test as hostile-vehicle proof: PAS 170-1:2017 is not a full-scale vehicle impact method.
  • Copying a spacing from another site: Spacing depends on the tested arrangement, vehicle geometry, approach and pedestrian requirements.
  • Ignoring the ends and bypass routes: A vehicle may drive around the line through a gate, service road, landscape strip or adjacent private land.
  • Designing security separately from evacuation: Bollards can narrow routes, obstruct turning space or create crowd pinch points. Review normal and emergency movement together.
  • Accepting an unreviewed substitution: A different bollard, foundation or control cabinet can change system performance. Require documented technical approval.
  • Stopping at handover: Construction, resurfacing, utility work and control changes can undermine the original design. Schedule inspections and manage alterations through the same risk rationale.

Document the decision so protection survives change

The project file should state the threat assumptions, protected assets, required operational outcome, selected impact performance, test configuration, spacing rationale, foundation design, access rules, pedestrian and evacuation arrangements, residual risks and accepted compromises. Include drawings showing the complete barrier line and interfaces, not just individual bollard symbols.

At handover, provide operating instructions, emergency contacts, inspection intervals, spare-part information, training records and as-built surveys. Reassess after an impact, a major traffic change, a building alteration, a new delivery pattern or any work that affects foundations or controls. This governance is what keeps a tested barrier functioning as a security system rather than leaving isolated posts that merely look protective.

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Authoritative guidance

The International Organization for Standardization describes ISO 22343-2:2023 as guidance on the selection, installation and use of VSBs and on producing operational requirements: ISO 22343-2:2023. Its browsing preview provides additional scope detail: ISO online preview. The NPSA Public Realm Design Guide explains tested vertical elements and hostile-vehicle-mitigation design: Public Realm Design Guide — Hostile Vehicle Mitigation, 3rd edition. Secured by Design’s standards overview explains the relationship between ISO 22343-1, earlier schemes and PAS 170-1: Barriers — standards explained.

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