Halt! Strategically placed wheel stops help drivers to manoeuvre accurately into designated spaces, with all the benefits that provides, as this article explains.

If you have never overshot a parking bay – or realised you are straddling the lines in a car park – then you deserve a medal. Even seasoned drivers who use commercial vehicles every day can have a moment of distraction or misjudgement, leaving them untidily parked and possibly the butt of colleagues’ jokes.

However, this is no laughing matter if manoeuvring a vehicle into place accurately is important.

This is when wheel stops can be invaluable for even highly competent drivers.

Logical reasons to install wheel stops

Before we get on to the different types of wheel stops, let’s look at how they can be used to good effect in commercial environments or public car parks.

Their value is not just in creating neat parking. Though in some situations this is important to keep productivity up, with HGVs and LGVs positioned appropriately. It also helps to keep major routes unhindered by inaccurately parked vehicles.

However, wheel stops become crucial when vehicles are constantly manoeuvring near expensive structures – or equipment such as EV charging stations. Giving drivers a clear guide can prevent a lapse in thinking leading to a large repair bill!

The other side of that costly coin is those occasions when overshooting a designated parking area results in damage to commercial vehicles. Potentially putting them out of action.

Wheel stops also prevent vehicles from constantly using your kerbs, walls and other structures as their indication to stop, which can gradually lead to substantial wear and tear.

Another important reason to find a supplier of commercial wheel stops is to remain compliant to H&S mandates. Using well-designed traffic movement and parking indicators keeps both drivers and pedestrians safer.

Placing wheel stops in workplaces and car parks

The first step is to carry out a thorough risk assessment and evaluate the best parking or loading area layout. Then, shop around for different levels and lengths of wheel stop.

The same principles apply whether this is a public car park, logistics centre, warehouse loading bay or emergency services centre. Wheel stops need to be placed strategically to provide an unmistakable sign that the edge of the zone has been reached.

They need to include a high-vis design, as part of their preventative role.

To be sure they last well in the face of constant knocks, scuffs and even forceable incursion, whatever category of wheel stop you specify needs to be made of strong, abrasion-resistant materials.

They also need to be quick to install wheel stops at affordable prices, so you can replace them or create new vehicle guides easily.

HGV and HLGV wheel stops

The likely force they will sustain affects the type of wheel stop you purchase.

For example, best practice in laying out HGV parking and loading bays demands a reasonably high, robust wheel stop that won’t buckle, fragment or split like traditional rubber versions.

Brandsafe sells strong wheel stops made from recycled truck tyres, moulded to enforce the last braking point. You get all the fixings needed to quickly add these HGV wheel stops to tarmac and concrete too.

There are more compact but equally collision-resistant wheel stops designed for HLGV locations too. Though not as high or long as the alternative mentioned above, these commercial leet wheel stops are a reliable way to help drivers of LGV vehicles manoeuvre with ease. These too come in kit form.

Traffic management in car parks

Another version of wheel stops to aid safe parking are ones designed specifically to manage car tyres.

Our durable car wheel stops are still made from recycled truck tyres. However, they are more compact than HGV and LGV wheel guides, to ensure that cars aren’t damaged. In other words, they are wheel stops that cater for vehicles with bodywork lower to the ground.

The best car park wheel stop arrays create clear space demarcation. This makes the best use of the available area, at the same time as preventing vehicles from overshooting bays, becoming a hindrance or colliding with structures.

Integrating wheel stops in traffic management plans

Creating the best combination of wheel stops, traffic bumps, HGV landing plates, delineator guides and clatter bars can keep vehicles flowing – and halting – safely and effectively on your site.

For help in stopping accidents, with strong wheel stops, give Brandsafe a call.

From motorways to factories, farms and race tracks, Armco barriers are synonymous with traffic safety management. In this article, we explain what Armco barriers are.

Rather than “What is an Armco barrier?” the question should probably be what makes these particular safety structures so prevalent around the world? Or, how are Armco barriers made?

The fact that they are so commonly specified in diverse locations – wherever traffic management is a high priority – shows very clearly that they work.

Their reliable and respected design also explains why this versatile range is becoming increasingly commonplace inside factories and warehouses throughout the UK and beyond – as well as along public and private roads and within busy car parks.

Key Facts About Armco Barriers

You will often hear these crucial safety structures referred to as ‘crash barriers’ as that’s their purpose in a nutshell. They are designed to reduce the incidence of collisions, but also to reduce the damage done when moving vehicles veer off in the wrong direction.

Armco barriers literally save lives and have been doing so for many decades now.

Though the engineering behind them is clever – and unlikely to be superseded – the different sized Armco barriers all have the same fundamental components. They are corrugated steel sections, fixed firmly in place, to enable them to absorb a considerable amount of force.

The safety barrier systems come in various dimensions. Following a risk assessment, specifiers match the likely level of impact with the best Armco barrier design for that location.

Beyond their important safety role, Armco Barriers are also popular as they require very little maintenance once they are installed correctly.

How Were Armco Barriers Invented?

The company that invented Armco barriers changed names and priorities over the years. The concept can trace its origins right back to the American Rolling Mill Company, founded in Ohio way back in 1899. The founder wanted to make his own steel to supply his roofing business.

As the years ‘rolled on’ and new technologies and processing systems influenced how steel could be shaped, a range of impact-resistant barriers was produced. Leading to the company eventually adapting Armco as its name, to reflect this globally successful product range.

That company got bought out by AK Steel, which recently changed its name to Cleveland-Cliffs.

However, while all these changes were occurring, the product concept gained a massive worldwide following and a life of its own.

This means Armco crash barriers are firmly entrenched in traffic management practices. Including those distinctive corrugated steel beams, pinned by strong posts, and finished off with matching corners, ends and reliably robust bolts.

Where Should I Buy Armco Barriers?

Now you know the answer to what is an Armco barrier – and a little of the history of the company that invented the concept – the important thing to know is where to buy Armco safety products in the UK.

Particularly the safety structures that can be used for traffic management both inside and outside busy warehouses and factory delivery bays.

Brandsafe provides different sizes of Armco Barriers to fit around specific site dimensions, but also to serve specific purposes. For example, our low-level Armco 360 system is designed to shield pedestrians and structures from forklift trip incursion, but also to minimise damage to expensive and vital off-road vehicles.

There are other Armco barrier specifications that go much higher, to protect commercial traffic routes effectively, for instance.

Thanks to the appliance of modern engineering and manufacturing techniques, the Armco accessories we stock fulfil a diverse range of safety roles too. Such as, Armco Ends that quickly and easily snap into place around the potentially sharp edges of safety rails.

It’s worth emphasising too that our products for workplaces feature distinctive yellow accessories and features. This adds a high-vis element to these usually grey corrugated steel safety barriers.

Also, all steel used in Armco systems is from leading suppliers and is fabricated, galvanised and powder coated to British Safety Standards.

What is an Armco Barrier System to Your Organisation?

With so many modern ways to configure Armco barriers – internally and around site perimeters – planning the best ways to use this important safety range can be a challenge.

Brandsafe would be happy to ‘shape’ the skills of our technical team around your layout and specific safety needs – to swiftly design and install your Armco solution, and get this tried and trust product performing exactly as it should.