Facts you need to know about HGV wheel stops!

Wheel stops are common traffic management devices used on roads, highways, parking, and parking lots to avoid crashes and increase the driving experience. These parking blocks alert drivers of their physical boundary to stop and park the vehicle without extending to the sidewalk or high curb area.

This stop-parking accessory prevents damage to vehicles, property, and passengers. Typically, there are different varieties of wheel stops with varying features, materials, and prices.

Similarly, truck wheel stops, also called HGV wheel stops or heavy-duty wheel stops, have much to offer and are highly durable thanks to their sturdy design.

What are HGV wheel stops, and how do they work?

HGV wheel stops are wheel stops for heavy or high-impact vehicles that would otherwise go wrong during parking and hit nearby vehicles.

HGV truck wheel stops are designed to stop trucks, lorries, commercial or industrial vehicles, trailers or other heavy-duty vehicles. HGV wheel stops prevent vehicles from driving where they shouldn’t and ensure trucks stop within a barking bay or loading area.

Normally, heavy-duty vehicles have large bodies, and it is quite hard, even for professional truck drivers, to guess the parking spot. When parking blocks or wheel stops are installed on the road, the drivers get their presence with slight tyre contact and get that they have reached the end of the space.

This indication helps vehicles stop and prevent them from impacting other cars and infrastructure.

With HGV wheel stops in place, drivers can confidently reverse their vehicles and not make contact with anything behind. Busy truck sites have loads of equipment, products, other vehicles and lighting that can get damaged if wheel stops are not installed.

What are the characteristics of heavy-duty wheel stops?

Sturdy and resistant to heavy impact are the main features of heavy-duty wheel stops. They can stop large trucks without impacting the wheel and their bodies.

In addition to this, there are some main features of truck wheel stops, such as:

• Truck wheel stops are highly durable, allowing them to withstand wear and tear. If trucks or other large vehicles’ wheels are passed over them, the truck wheel stops are sturdy enough to bear the load. They are not cracked or chipped with a high volume of trucks or other heavy-duty vehicles.
• Usually, heavy-duty wheel stops are made of recycled rubber or steel. Both materials are durable and do not break due to the tire’s weight.
  Plastic or wood is fragile compared to these materials and cannot withstand a load of heavy vehicles, so heavy-duty wheel stops are rubber or steel made.
  You must not forget the difference between rubber and steel heavy-duty wheel stops here. Rubber is rust-free and saves your wheel stops for your entire life, while steel is prone to rust and rot damage.
  Similarly, steel wheel stops can result in slipping accidents on truck sites that are quite dangerous as people carrying heavy weights can fall over them. While the rubber wheel stops, firmly grip and avoid such accidents.
• Heavy-duty rubber wheel stops are obvious thanks to their yellow sheetings, so drivers and other road users can easily get their presence on the road, even in the dark or low light.
  Normally, truck drivers have activities at night, so their visibility is crucial.
  You can have HGV wheel stops completely yellow, black, or yellow reflective strips for pedestrian and driver visibility.

Where are HGV wheel stops used?

HGV wheel stops are ideally installed on sites where heavy-duty vehicles, trucks and lorries are parked or frequently driving. These wheel stops aim to ensure the safety of drivers, the workforce at these sites and other road users because these vehicles have a high rate of accidents.

Drivers cannot look back during reverse parking, and motor vehicles have the chance of an accident with it. So, these are some major sites where HGV wheel stops are used:

• HGV wheel stops are necessary for busy depots and service areas. When trucks are parked back to back, it can be easy to misjudge the length of the vehicle, and they collide in no time, which may result in fatalities.

• You can use these parking blocks at loading bays and distribution areas as heavy trucks carrying goods frequently move at these sites.

• Unloading and waiting for bay sites also require wheel stop placement.

• Warehouses, industrial and commercial areas where articulated and heavy vehicles are frequently parked.

• Trailer parking areas and truck parking at service stations are prime locations where HGV wheel stops prevent accidents and fatalities.

• You can also use HGV wheel stops for vehicles like double-deckers, coaches, and a combination of all sizes of trucks and lorries, including rigid and articulated vehicles.

Thus, if you are in charge of these sites, don’t risk drivers and other road users’ lives and consider HGV wheel stops as must-have traffic safety devices.

You should also contact the truck transportation department for wheel stop placement. This equipment will save lives and reduce the repair cost of damaged vehicles and property.

How are heavy-duty wheel stops different from other wheel stoppers?

Heavy-duty wheel stops differ somewhat from common wheel stops indoors and outdoors. The key difference is their exceptional durability, and they are not hollow from the inside to bend with the tractor-trailer, speeding trucks and trollies’ weight.

Undoubtedly, many wheel stops are of good quality, but Heavy-duty wheel stops bear the weight of vehicles without any impact. Many drivers do not follow safety tips and may pass the wheel over parking blocks.

Heavy-duty wheel stops’ dimensions are slightly different from normal wheel stops, which are slightly taller. For instance, the height of UK wheel stops is around 100 mm, while HGV wheel stops are 150 mm high.

The width of heavy-duty wheel stops is also different, around 300 mm. On the contrary, street parking wheel stops are around 150 mm wide.

This variation in the dimensions is because the wheels of heavy vehicles are tougher, bigger and wider, so the wheel stops must be compatible with them.

Conclusion

Wheel stops are a great way to reduce the impact of vehicles on nearby motor vehicles and other traffic. Parking spaces, including heavy traffic, road traffic and street traffic, need physical boundaries to separate different vehicles and reduce wheel stop damage.

HGV wheel stops solve heavy-duty parking traffic like trucks, tractors, lorries, busses and other industrial motor vehicles with hazardous materials.

So, follow driving rules and safety regulations, use speed-limit signs and ensure drivers’ safety with wheel stops. When every checkpoint is cleared, there will be no risk of accidents.

To learn more, we advise you to refer to the following pages: