No one wants to have to make a call to the family of someone who was seriously injured or killed by a truck that has rolled away while parked on your worksite. But the unfortunate truth is, this happens more often than is acceptable.

It’s easy to overlook how a simple wheel chock can stop a truck from unintentional movement (along with the parkbrake) and prevent this from ever happening. Having them on site is the first step. Then you need to make sure they are being used and used correctly.

At Vanguard, we supply rubber wheel chocks for medium to heavy vehicles and now have a new model with wheels and a handle to make it easier to use.

In this article, we’ll explore the basics of wheel chocks, including when to use them and how to place them, common mistakes to avoid and a comparison of the different options we can help you with. By the end, you should be able to determine how you can use wheel chocks as a simple, effective control to prevent vehicle roll-aways on your site.

Wheel chocks: Preventing vehicle roll-aways

Let’s look at the real issue – vehicle roll-aways are a serious safety risk, often resulting from improper parking procedures, mechanical failures or human error. Even the most vigilant driver can get caught out.

This is a scary situation. No doubt you’ve been on a worksite with forklifts, trucks, light vehicles and the buzz of people working to move things from A to B. There is a lot going on. While the truck being loaded might look stable and secure, a failing brake or movement can happen in a second and cause serious harm or death.

Sadly, these types of accidents are all too common on worksites, but you can mitigate those risks by effectively using wheel chocks to keep your vehicles right where they belong.

Wheel chocks: When they are critical

Rather than waiting for an incident to happen, let’s look at two examples that show when wheel chocks can be critical for safety:

1.   Your vehicle has cardan shaft parking brakes

You need to have wheel chocks if your vehicle has cardan shaft parking brakes. What’s the risk? If these brakes are not correctly maintained, or the vehicle is overloaded, there is a greater chance that the park brake will not be strong enough to hold the vehicle in place, or worse, it may fail altogether. A pair of wheel chocks on your wheels can prevent death or injury, especially when being loaded or parked on a slope.

You could also consider putting a sticker like this inside your cab to alert your drivers, so there’s no excuse:

2.   When loading a truck with a forklift

Think about it. When you are loading and unloading a truck with a forklift or reach truck the weight distribution and amount is changing with each lift. The stability of the truck is also changing and there is a greater risk of unintended movement. Using wheel chocks when a truck is docked prevents any movement and gives the driver and forklift operator, as well as ground staff, assurance that it is safe to work.

Choosing wheel chocks: Factors to consider

Before investing in wheel chocks, there are a few things you’ll want to consider. A good place to start is to think about the purpose, size, surface, material, and importantly, the people that will need to move them around:

• What is the job? Does the chock need to stop a truck, car, or plane from moving?
• The right size: does the chock match your wheel diameter?
• What surface are you parking on: is it smooth, sealed, uneven, sloped?
• The right material: do you need rubber, metal, or plastic chocks?
• Who will use them: how often do they use them, how many times will they lift them, what surface are they on, and do you want to prevent back strain?

Vanguard’s rubber wheel chocks

At Vanguard, we offer two sizes of rubber wheel chocks that will suit most medium and heavy vehicles. The standard medium size is suited to smaller trucks/utility vehicles (wheel sizes up to 760mm diametre) and the large chock works best for larger trucks. Other materials such as plastic and aluminum are offered by other suppliers.

High-density rubber makes the chocks durable, easy to move, and provides excellent traction on vehicle tyres. By comparison, plastic chocks are super light-weight and economical. Aluminium or metal are great for heavy-duty industrial use and very durable. (Want more information? Give us a call, or check out a comparison here for heavy industry and here for lighter vehicles).

How to transport wheel chocks on site

To help your staff move chocks around, there are different handle types. The medium chock has a rope handle and the large chock has a built-in rubber handle. There is also the option of a large chock with built-in wheels and a handle, making it much easier to place and remove wheel chocks – a great choice for sites where wheel chocks are used regularly.

Price comparison: large vs handled wheel chock

Let’s look at the price comparisons between the three different wheel chocks that we provide.

You might be thinking; why is the large, handled wheel chock so much more expensive than the standard large one? And what do I get for that price? Great question!

Physically, you get exactly the same large rubber chock. However the key difference is in the innovative handle and wheel design which makes it much safer and easier to use this wheel chock. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages this wheel chock provides:

The safety benefits

The safety benefits of the wheel chock & handle system are hard to beat. If you’ve ever strained your back and been off work for days, or worse, pushed through the pain, then you’ll understand why this is a health and safety improvement:

• No bending or lifting. You simply wheel it out and roll it into place reducing the risk of repetitive or acute strain injuries.
• Usability – People want to use them as weight is not a deterrent – it’s easy to move, improving safety.
• High visibility – the large yellow sign makes it obvious to drivers and workers that the vehicle is chocked, preventing accidental drive-aways.

Reducing the risk of injuries, which are common in drivers and operators, can help your company prevent significant personal and financial burdens.

Do I need a left or right handle?

This is another common question we get asked. You can use the chock on both sides of a wheel, but if you’re using the chock with handle, we offer either a right or left-mount configuration, depending on whether you need to prevent your vehicles from rolling forward or backward.

Here’s how to determine whether you need a left-mounted or right-mounted handle:

• Left-hand mount: placed behind the driver-side wheel to stop the wheel rolling backward.
• Right-hand mount: placed in front of the driver-side wheel to stop the vehicle rolling forward.
• Flat ground: Use on both sides to prevent movement in both directions.

You can watch this short video to see how easy it is to put a left mounted large handled chock in place (note it is behind the driver wheel to stop backward movement).

Common mistakes to avoid

It is better to prevent mistakes than learn from them when it comes to moving vehicles. Never use damaged chocks or roll the vehicle over them.

To protect your workers always remember:

• Choose the right chocks for the specific job – using chocks that are either too small or large won’t provide good stability
• Park mode first, wheel chock second – always put the truck, car, or van into park mode
• Put them in the right spot – driver side first, under the backs or fronts of the wheels depending on the direction of the slope against the vehicle.
• Train your staff, and make it easy for them to use chocks (consider the handled/wheeled version for repeated use).

Making your worksite safer: time to take action

For something so simple, wheel chocks have a huge impact on health and safety. If you haven’t got them on your worksite, now’s the time to find out what you need. Keeping your workers safe is a priority and usually, your risk assessment or site traffic management plan will identify when chocks should be used. Perhaps include this topic in a discussion at your next Toolbox Safety Meeting.

If you’d like some guidance on what wheel chock is best for you, get in touch with our team who can guide you through the process and make sure you get the right solution.