Using a (South African) Boom

I watched a car trying to get through a boom today. It was a South African classic. First, they needed me to authorise entry (a delay of several minutes). Then, they needed fingerprint recognition to lift the boom. The fingerprint recognition wouldn't work. But they had a big button as a backup. That wouldn't work. No worry, they had a mechanical alternative with a key. That wouldn't work. They instructed the car to reverse out, and enter through another boom. But the car couldn't reverse out, because traffic was backed up. Once that was sorted out, the second boom worked -- however, it was followed by a big gate -- which wouldn't. They disengaged the motor, and heaved the gate open. The car now got through. OBSERVATION: This involved four personnel, and no small amount of time.