[moguldreamer]

Originally Posted by movin1

People without gate codes just wait for someone in a car to open the gate and follow them in. Guard gated communities usually also have security personnel that drive around and look for problems, so that is better than just a gate. Guard gated communities have high HOA fees to pay for the extra security.

We have a "virtual guard" instead of a live guard at the gate. Our community is too small such that the economics don't work for paying for a live guard. A set of cameras recognize the license plates of registered residents & their pre-authorized guests (e.g., pool maintenance, landscaping, housekeeping, friends). When you pull up, the cameras record your vehicle & the driver's image & recognize the license plate & the gates open automatically.

For people whose vehicles have not been registered as authorized, they pull up to a large computer screen, and they are connected with a live "guard" who interacts with them, asking them the address they are going through and the name of the home owner, purpose of the visit, etc. Their car, license plate, face, etc are captured, and a message is sent to the resident's smart phone saying "this person is coming in" with a button on your phone to say "don't let them in." If you don't press that, they are let in. This works well for people like a plumber or HVAC tech comping to do a repair, or a furniture delivery truck or the like.

Upon occasion, a workman's truck attempts to tailgate me through as you describe. I open the gates, go through & stop just inside so the workman cannot tailgate through. They seem not to understand why I would care. Sometimes I explain to them how to go to the large computer screen & explain how the system works; they usually are OK with that, assuming they speak enough English to understand.

Sometimes it is an Uber/Lift going to a specific address for a pick-up but somehow can't reach requestor, and I again show them what to do.


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The system doesn't work as well once a vacant lot breaks ground to build a house - there are just so many workman coming in. Subcontractors & material suppliers usually have no idea what the name of the owner of the lot is and have difficulty with the virtual guard. Imagine a concrete mixer truck coming in to pour the foundation - they probably don't even know the name of the general contractor, just the subcontractor that sets the concrete forms & orders the delivery of concrete & pumper & has a whole bunch of Joses to work the concrete before it sets.