Do You Need to Use a Wheel Chock?
Published on
August 24, 2023 at 11:58:16 AM PDT August 24, 2023 at 11:58:16 AM PDTth, August 24, 2023 at 11:58:16 AM PDT
Safety laws suggest that wheel chocks are essential for every commercial vehicle. Wheel chocks are used to stop vehicles from rolling when they are parked - especially on a hill. It is extremely dangerous when the brakes give way on a large commercial vehicle, potentially damaging anything that gets in its way. Even a small slope or uneven ground can result in your vehicle rolling - so be prepared!
How to use a wheel chock:
- Purchase a wheel chock that is approximately 25% of the diameter of your vehicle tyre (e.g. a 760 mm diameter tyre would require a 190 mm high wheel chock).
- Park your vehicle correctly.
- Place the wheel chock snugly into the tyre under the right and left wheels on the bottom of the slope.
Keep in mind when you are using wheel chocks:
- If the angle of the slope is more than 10 degrees then this can increase the risk of the vehicle running over the wheel chock, so you may want to have a larger chock than 25% of the diameter. If the slope is over 16.6% the wheel chock may not have enough restraint, so always try to park on the flattest ground available.
- The surface of the road or ground you are parking on. Nothing will hold very securely if the surface is icy or slippery, so ensure it is not slippery.
- Never use bricks, rocks, wood or any other make-shift material that is around your site. Only use wheel chocks that are up to New Zealand's safety regulations.
- Keep a set of wheel chocks in your commercial vehicle trailer, it is not worth being caught without them. A truck, trailer or any other commercial vehicle can be very dangerous once out of control.
- To become even safer use a handbrake alarm.
For more information on this, check out https://worksafe.govt.nz/about-us/news-and-media/driveshaft-parking-brake-failures-in-commercial-and-industrial-vehicles/
TransQuip stocks 2 different sizes of wheel chocks #3709 190mm and the large #3708 265mm high wheel chock.