Meridian Rapid Defense Group, a mobile barrier security provider, is expanding its reach across the U.S. after a dramatic rise in requests for colleges to create more safe pedestrian spaces for students and staff.
Whether it is protecting football crowds at the University of Alabama or at Texas A&M, closing cross streets at the University of Southern California for homecoming or blocking vehicle access for graduation events at the University of Maryland, Meridian is there securing perimeters while still providing flexible access in critical moments.
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Meridian CEO and founder Peter Whitford explains how, in the past, campuses were designed to be open and easy to access, but because of tragic vehicle ramming events, things had to change.
“Our job at Meridian is to create secure and safe pedestrian zones without the area being overloaded with bulky concrete and water barriers,” he says. “The Archer mobile barrier is a classic example of how to lock down a college pedestrian area safely while still allowing campus activities to continue unobstructed.”
Each Archer 1200 barrier is 700lbs of American made steel and because of the unique design it can be wheeled into place in a matter of minutes by one person. Years of crash testing involving trucks and cars have resulted in Meridian barriers and gates being awarded the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s highest rating, making them Safety Act certified. The act provides Federal Government full liability protection for all users, in the case of an act of terrorism, domestic or foreign.
Image Courtesy of Meridian Rapid Defense Group
Several recent surveys involving college students have highlighted requests for an increased focus on pedestrian and roadway safety initiatives. And now that a good number of colleges are prohibiting underclassmen from bringing vehicles to school for their first two years it means they get around campus on foot and bicycle, making it all the more important for safety officers to do more to protect their safety.
“In the past month, our barriers and gates have been tested in real world incidents,” says Whitford. “In particular at the start of June the Archer barriers stopped a car that was heading towards a crowd in Albuquerque, and two weeks before in Torrance, California, an elderly driver became confused, and he rammed the barriers and thankfully stopping him from heading into group of people watching a military parade. In each incident the drivers were uninjured, and the barriers were immediately set back in place unscathed.”
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Meridian Archer 1200 Barriers are “SAFETY Act Certified” by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) providing the ultimate standard in keeping people, communities and places safer.
For more information about Meridian Rapid Defense Group and the Archer 1200 vehicle barrier visit www.meridian-barrier.com.
Meridian will also be exhibiting at the upcoming Campus Safety Conference, happening July 21-23 in Austin.
