Principles and regulations
A warning strip is a tactile surface designed to be installed on the ground, alerting visually impaired and blind people to hazards or obstacles when walking.
It consists of slightly raised studs arranged in a staggered pattern, allowing users to detect them by touch, either with their feet or their cane.
There are various devices that can be used to create a warning strip:
- Tactile paving strips
- Tactile paving studs
- Tactile paving blocks
The use, installation and characteristics of tactile paving devices are governed by several laws, decrees and standards:
- Law No. 2005-102 of 11 February 2005, which aims to guarantee equal rights and opportunities, as well as the participation of people with disabilities, requires universal accessibility to the built environment, roads, public spaces and transport systems from 1 January 2015.
- The decree of 20 April 2017 concerns the accessibility of new establishments open to the public (ERP) for persons with disabilities.
- The decree of 8 December 2014 deals with the accessibility of existing ERP and facilities open to the public (IOP).
- Finally, standard NF P98-351 relates to devices designed to alert blind or visually impaired persons throughout their journey.
Location and dimensions
In accordance with the decree of 15 January 2007, these strips must be installed in public spaces, both indoors and outdoors:
- in front of pedestrian crossings, opposite a road or railway crossing
- along railway platforms or platforms providing access to guided, maritime or river transport
- at the top of stairs in establishments open to the public (ERP) and on intermediate landings
- for new ERP establishments, upstream and downstream of any escalator or moving walkway and at the top of any slope greater than 6%
Regardless of where you install your tactile surface, it is essential that it be located 50 cm from any obstacle or hazard to be signalled, such as a road, railway track or the first step of a staircase. It must also be aligned parallel to the road, platform or staircase.
Its regulatory width is 587.5 mm (+/- 5 mm) and it must have 8 rows of studs arranged in a staggered pattern with a centre-to-centre distance of 75 mm (+/- 1 mm) in both the width and length directions. The studs must be domed in shape, with a diameter of 25 mm (+/- 1 mm) and a height of 5 mm.
In certain cases (narrow spaces, public transport platforms, refuge islands), its width may be reduced to 400 mm (+/- 5 mm), with alternating rows of 6 studs and 5 studs.
Finally, a minimum visual contrast of 70% with the floor is required in order to make the device as visible as possible to visually impaired people.
Please do not hesitate to contact us so that we can discuss and determine your requirements together.