In Germany, high-value cars are no longer just broken into and hot-wired. Modern thieves outwit keyless radio keys in seconds or simply load the vehicle onto a trailer – quickly, quietly and usually unnoticed. This happens most often where the car stands at night: in its owner's own driveway.
The insurance usually pays. But the hassle remains: claim report, assessor, hire car, weeks or months of waiting for a replacement vehicle – and the uneasy feeling that it could happen again at any time. Our customer did not want to let it get that far in the first place.
One bollard, one narrow driveway: when it is raised, no vehicle gets out – and none gets in.
The starting point: narrow driveway, valuable car
The access to the house is a narrow, paved lane between the garage and a hedge. At the end stands the owner's sports car. It is clearly visible from the street – and until now it was just as easy to reach. A gate would have closed the driveway, but there would hardly have been room for one at the narrow point between the house wall and the hedge, and a gate can be opened quickly with the right tools.
A single bollard is enough
Because the driveway is so narrow, one retractable bollard in the middle is enough. No car can get past on the left or right. A retractable barrier bollard made of V4A stainless steel (1.4571) was installed. When lowered, only the stainless steel lid lies flush in the paving; when raised, a barrier of solid stainless steel stands between the street and the car.
Why the bollard cannot be outwitted
A bollard only protects against theft if it cannot simply be lowered. When raised, our bollards engage mechanically at the top via a locking bolt. They can neither be pushed down nor shifted with a car jack or a vehicle. If the compressed air line is cut, only the air escapes – the bolt holds, the bollard stays up. And the system can be set so that the bollard also stays raised during a power failure. Anyone who wants to get the car out of this driveway must first lower the bollard – and that is only possible with the owner's hand-held transmitter.
Simple to operate
In everyday life, the owner hardly notices any of this: press the hand-held transmitter, the bollard lowers in a few seconds, the car rolls over it, and then the bollard rises again. No getting out, no key, no lock.
Indestructible in all weathers
Our bollards work pneumatically. The bollard contains only a stainless steel cylinder; the compressor and valve stand dry in the house or garage. There is no motor and no electronics in the ground that could be exposed to rain, frost or road salt. The bollard is sealed to IP69, the seals are designed for down to −35 °C, and the system needs no heater. It is very low-maintenance. The bollards are manufactured in-house at our site in Seevetal near Hamburg.
The result
At night the car stands behind a barrier that cannot be outwitted. And the owner has exactly what he wanted: simply a feeling of security. For data protection reasons, we do not name the location or the customer.
Would you also like to protect your vehicle against theft?
We have described similar cases here:
- Sports car protected in the Greater Berlin area
- Four bollards against unauthorised parking and car theft
- Series of thefts stopped
Read more on the page Vehicle theft protection. Send us a photo of your driveway via WhatsApp to +49 172 4544485 or call us on +49 40 226390411. We will tell you whether one bollard is enough, where it should stand and which version fits. You will find all models and prices in the overview retractable bollards made of stainless steel V4A.
