Bollard terms explained: a plain-English glossary

Base plate

The flat steel plate at the foot of a fixed bollard. It bolts to the slab with anchors. The SW-FB90 base plate is Ø225 × 8mm and the SW-FB140 is Ø250 × 8mm. See fixed bollards.

Bollard

A short post that marks a boundary, protects an area or keeps vehicles off it. SafeWise bollards are carbon steel with a 3mm wall, powder-coated safety yellow with a red reflective band, and are not crash-rated. See all products.

Centres vs clear gap

The clear gap is the open space between the edges of two bollards. Centres (centre to centre) is the distance between their middles, which is the clear gap plus one bollard diameter. Access widths are clear gaps, and set-out usually works from centres. See bollard spacing.

Cover plate

The steel plate at the top of a removable bollard's in-ground socket. It is Ø187 × 6mm on the 90mm socket and Ø214 × 6mm on the 140mm. See removable bollards.

Core drill

A drill with a round diamond bit that cuts a clean cylindrical hole in concrete. It is used to make the hole for a socket in an existing slab: about 130mm for the 90mm bollard and about 220–225mm for the 140mm. See core drill sizes.

Crash-rated

Tested by driving a vehicle into a bollard on a stated foundation, to a standard such as PAS 68, IWA 14 or ASTM F2656. IWA 14-1 is now listed as withdrawn and revised by ISO 22343-1:2023. SafeWise bollards are not crash-rated. See safety vs crash-rated bollards and the standards guide.

Delineator

A marker that shows where a boundary or route is, so people and drivers can see it. SafeWise bollards are delineation bollards: they mark boundaries and deter low-speed nudges. See car park bollards.

Ex GST

Before GST is added. SafeWise prices are ex GST and ex freight, for example the SW-RB90 from $120 ($132 inc GST). Freight is quoted per job. See bollard cost.

Fixed bollard

A bollard that bolts to the surface through a base plate and stays put. See fixed bollards and how to install them.

Key lock

The lock that holds a removable bollard in its socket until it is unlocked with a key. Keys are supplied with the bollard. See keys and locks.

Non-shrink grout

A grout that doesn't shrink as it sets. It is used, or concrete is, to seat a socket in a cored hole in an existing slab. See installing removable bollards.

Reflective band

The band on a bollard that catches headlights. Every SafeWise bollard has a red reflective band. Accessible parking guidance is commonly summarised as asking for a reflective or contrasting band. See accessible parking bay bollards.

Removable bollard

A bollard that lifts out of an in-ground socket with a key, so a gap can be opened for vehicles. The socket comes with each SafeWise removable bollard. Both sizes stand 900mm above ground. See removable bollards.

Setback

The distance from a reference such as a kerb, wall, door or path edge to a bollard or wheel stop. Councils commonly quote at least 500mm from the edge of a path for bollards. See bollard setbacks and wheel stop setbacks.

Shoe base

A surface-mounted base that a removable bollard drops into, used instead of an in-ground socket. Some suppliers use the term. SafeWise removable bollards use an in-ground socket, and we don't list a shoe base. See surface-mount vs in-ground.

Sleeve

A loosely used word. Some suppliers mean the in-ground tube a removable bollard drops into, which we call a socket. Others mean a bolt-down holder for parking a removed bollard. Our SW-SL90 and SW-SL140 are the second kind, and we call them storage holders. See sleeve vs socket vs storage holder.

Socket

The steel tube set into the ground that a removable bollard sits in. It comes with each SafeWise removable bollard: Ø102 × 4 × 225mm for the 90mm and Ø152 × 4mm for the 140mm. See how removable bollards work.

Storage base (storage holder)

A holder that bolts to the floor to park a removed bollard. It is not an in-ground socket. SafeWise sells the SW-SL90 ($25 ex GST) and the SW-SL140 ($35 ex GST), in stock. See bollard storage holders.

Surface-mount

Fixed to the top of the slab with anchors rather than set into it. A fixed bollard is surface-mount. See surface-mount vs in-ground bollards.

Wheel stop

A kerb-like block at the head of a parking bay that stops a car's wheels. The SW-WS1650 is a 1650mm reflective rubber wheel stop, 100mm high. See wheel stops and wheel stops vs bollards.