Grass Mats as a Safety Surface?
No school is truly complete without an exciting set of playground equipment for children to play on; whether it’s a climbing frame, a slide, or a set of swings, nothing beats the joy of getting active at break time. But this expensive equipment is worthless without proper safety surfacing to protect against injuries caused by falls.
Common surfaces such as wet pour or rubber mulch, although very safe, can become quite expensive when used to cover large areas of ground. And, with tighter budgets, it can be difficult to achieve the playground of your dreams.
Fortunately, there are alternatives out there that will reduce the cost of your playground without compromising the safety of your children. Although it may be surprising, Rubber Grass Mats are one of these alternatives, and in some cases could actually be a better fit for your playground. This article will explain all you need to know.
Why Grass Mats are a good alternative
Rubber Grass Mats are normally used to stabilise boggy ground or protect grass from heavy foot traffic. But their soft and stable texture gives them excellent impact absorption properties making them ideal for use around playground equipment.
One of the biggest benefits of grass mats, as opposed to wet pour, is that it can be easily installed on to grass without ruining the turf. This is perfect if you want a play area or a long Trim Trail on your school field; the grass grows back through the mat, giving the best protection and a great natural look.
Installing grass mats could not be easier; simply use cable ties to fix the mats together and U-Pins to secure them to the ground. This is excellent if you want to add extra protection to existing play areas or other danger zones without the expense of bringing workers to your school.
Critical Fall Height is a measure which tells us the how far someone could fall on to a surface without expecting there to be life-threatening head trauma. This is extremely important to be aware of in a playground environment. People often misunderstand the meaning of Critical Fall Heights. Manufacturers or suppliers commonly quote a fall height of 3m but what does this really mean?
When tested in accordance with BS EN 1177:2008 a Head Injury Criterion (HIC) value of 1000 cannot be exceeded from a test height of 3m. With a grass mat which is 1500mm x 1000mm and 23mm thick, a HIC value of 550 was recorded from a test height of 3m.
This means that if you fell on to a grass mat from 3m you would record a HIC of 550; figures suggest that there is a 45% chance of moderate injury. This is compared to falling 3m with a HIC of 1000, where figures suggest you would be 90% likely to sustain a moderate injury.
Essentially, this means that as long as there is no chance a child could fall on to the surface from more than 3m, grass mats are well below the maximum HIC for a fall.
We hope that this article has informed you about the advantages of grass mats as a safety surfacing, and we hope that one day you will consider it as an alternative. If you would like to find out more, feel free to contact us and speak to a member of our team, or click here to view the product page for our grass mats.
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