Martin Door's new opener not only brings a change in the ease of operation for a garage door with an opener without photo eyes, but it brings increased safety to households with small children who might have an inclination to take a ride on the garage door.

The opener's new technology is so advanced that if a 20-pound child jumps on the door to ride it up, the door will stop.

That technology adds another layer of safety for Martin Door systems, which already feature FingerShield™ technology that prevents children from putting little fingers into a garage door, for a potential ride fraught with danger.

Riding a garage door is more common than many may think. Consider the following examples:

--a four-year-old Ohio girl's ride on the garage door ended in injury. A Consumer Product Safety Commission report says the girl was holding on the handle on the outside of the garage door as the door was lifted in the air. Her father pulled the door downwards and she fell and struck her head on the floor.

---a two-year-old boy sustained contusions and abrasions to his nose, head and rectum when he held onto the inside of an automatic garage door at home as it was opening and fell off the door when it reached the top. The incident occurred on March 18, 2004, according to the CPSC report.

--ten-year-old Nick Green of Columbus, Ohio was riding a door up on Nov. 4, 1998 and got caught between the door and the header beam and turned blue. A neighbor held him up until paramedics arrived. Nick survived, but was in critical condition for a time. The case drew national attention on ABC's "Good Morning America."

--In a northern Utah community, two children thought it would be fun to take turns riding up and down on the garage door. One child was to push the button, while the other one took a ride. It worked for the first boy. By the second rider, however, the fun changed quickly. The second rider accidentally put his fingers between the joint sections and when the door reached the ground he was trapped. He was rushed to the hospital before the resulting injuries were properly addressed.

Later this year, all of Martin Door's residential openers will feature this new technology, which instantly shuts down a door if someone 20 pounds or heavier is inclined to ride the door.

National statistics show that American children reach the weight of 20 pounds sometime in the 9-12 month period of their lives. That average weight means that by the time the children grow big enough to want to experiment with the garage door, the door will shut down when the ride begins.