Why are garage door safety sensors required?

Garage door sensors are crucial to protecting the safety and security of anything that may be in, or moving in and out of, one’s garage door path. Whether that is a child, a vehicle, or other items being stored, the safety sensors are set close to the ground typically attached to the vertical track. The sensors, a transmitter and a receiver are required to have direct line of sight to operate properly. When the door is in closing mode, downward movement, the sensor is required to have uninterrupted signal from the transmitter to the receiver. If during this operation mode the IR path is disrupted, the sensor communicates to the motor, typically called the motor and stops the downward operation and begins reversing the door back to the horizontal position. This feature allows for accidental closure of a door on an object or person in the path. The US Federal regulation 16 CFR 1211requires that garage doors be installed with safety mechanisms, such as sensors, for this reason.