Car incursion into a restaurant storefront is no longer treated as a rare freak event in Southern California. It is now a design input. Over twenty years of working on perimeter protection for commercial frontages, we have seen the risk model shift from theft and vandalism to kinetic energy from an out-of-control car. The recent cluster of fatal restaurant strikes in Los Angeles County has moved bollard selection from an aesthetic afterthought to a code-adjacent safety decision.
💡 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Q: Why are car incursions into restaurants now treated as a design input in Southern California?
- A: Repeated fatal restaurant strikes in Los Angeles County have shifted the risk model from theft and vandalism to kinetic energy from out-of-control vehicles, making perimeter protection a core safety design consideration.
- Q: What is changing in bollard selection for commercial storefronts?
- A: Bollard selection is moving from an aesthetic afterthought to a code-adjacent safety decision, with standards and installation being rewritten to resist vehicle impact and protect pedestrians.
- Q: How has perimeter protection risk modeling evolved over 20 years?
- A: The focus has shifted from preventing theft and vandalism to mitigating high-energy car impacts, requiring engineered bollards rated for crash performance rather than appearance alone.