When a car stops at the gate to wave their card the gate arm can't be more than 8 feet in front of the car's windshield. If a driver can't see a gate bar at 8 feet they have absolutely no business operating a motor vehcile.

I agree with a previous poster that contractor vehicles do hit the gates frequently. I have also been tailgated through the gate a couple times but now I creep through the gate so the car following can't make it through without being hit by the bar.

But if they haven't seen the arm, they wouldn't know the gate was there, so why would they be stopping?

Many gates are staggered, such that the entrance gate is not always alongside the exit gate.

Bright sun can cause a gate strike, especially if it’s not your regular route. I Almost got a gate when we first moved here. The sun was so bright, I couldn’t see the gate. I stopped in time, but car after me ran into it

There is a big, usually white metal box, on the left side of the entrance just before the gate arm where you have to wave your card or push the red button. Also, there are big signs at the entrance telling you the name of the village you are entering. How do you miss that? There is a gate at the entrances to the different villages so how do you forget that?

We went to the golf cart safety course and we were told that on average there are 2500 gate strikes per year.

so when you accidentally crash through the gate what next? I know you are on video. do you stay there? call community watch? the person behind you is watching you also. or if you are drunk, head home and blame the wife? if you call community watch, they may rat you out for boozing. such a decision......

Not true at egress gates which are hit more frequently.

I agree, the one by my house is hard to see early in the morning when the sun is directly in my eyes. Sometimes the gate arms are left up which makes an interesting guessing game-will it or won't it go down?

Awesome! I love it! There are cameras there so we could also wager on the make of vehicle that had the most whacks

Head lights work real well for seeing at night. All the gates that I have passed through have reflective tape on them, which glows when hit by headlights.

Flashing lights on the gate arms and a loud speaker on the post that says YOU MAY ENTER NOW:)

How about try changing a few of the arms that seem to be destroyed more than most to a flat bar instead of the tube type used and change the colors and give it a test run.

Just for the record, neither I nor Mrs Fox have ever hit a gate arm, so there's no need to get excited and rude, Number 10, just read my posts more carefully.

All I said was that Mrs Fox finds some gate arms hard to see at dusk.

As an earlier poster pointed out, it is the exit gates that are more often damaged as there is no other "hardware" there. No white box; no "Thank you for visiting the Village of Dreams" sign.

Yes, it is VERY difficult to see the front gate announcing the village name, the white building in the middle of the entrance and the activator box in front of the long arm of the gate. The gate arm that has reflective tape on it that shines when hit with headlights.
If you hit the gate, you need to reevaluate whether you should be operating a dangerous motor vehicle. Do you also hit your garage door, or do you park on the street?

Does the Daily Sun recycle articles?
 

I think I read this very article in February 2021. Do you think the paper repeats articles to fill space?