Wheel stops are often ignored in parking lots and parking garages, when, in fact, they are an extremely important part of any garage or parking lot! Without wheel stops, those who are parking in your garage may find themselves parking incorrectly and hitting another vehicle. Wheel stops not only help to provide structure for your parking lot or garage, they also allow you to help your customers save their vehicles.

Quite often, a vehicle will shift out of park, or the clutch will release, causing the vehicle to roll. A wheel stop prevents the vehicle from banging into other cars, and allows them to remain safe. They are also important as the guard a pedestrian from being hit when a car is moving. If the person walking is on the right side of the wheel stop, the vehicle will be prevented from running into them, saving them from having broken body parts and, potentially, from death. Even though wheel stops are overlooked by casual observers, they are something that can not be overlooked by someone who is planning a parking lot.

Some business owners ponder if they should paint wheel stops or not. They have very valid arguments against painting their wheel stops, some of which include:

• A waste of money. It’s just a piece of concrete, why should you have to pay to have it painted?
• It’s just paint, and they feel that they can paint it themselves.
• A bottle or spray paint is much less expensive than paying someone to paint the wheel stops for you.

There are also, however arguments for having your wheel stops painted. For instance, if you were to avoid painting your wheel stops entirely, it is very likely that someone will trip over them or will run into them. They blend very easily into the pavement, and can often damage a person or their vehicle. If you choose to paint the wheel stops yourself, you will likely wind up having to do so over and over again, as the paint is not meant to last for a generation. Spray paint soaks very quickly into the concrete, and will be gone almost as quick as you can paint it.

Everything breaks down over time, even wheel stops. The bad thing about wheel stops breaking down is that, if they are allowed to break down enough, the rebar shows and they can become very dangerous. If you allow your wheel stops to break down extensively, you will find that you have rebar coming out of the sides, and possibly even the top, depending on how they are made. This can cause the people in your parking lot to be injured very easily, and may wind up actually harming someone very seriously.

More than one person has been injured by rebar, and has had to undergo Tetanus shots and antibiotics in order to become healthy just by being scratched from the exposed rebar. Others have actually been impaled on exposed rebar, causing not only serious health issues, but lawsuits as well.

In order to avoid this from occurring, it is vital that you replace your wheel stops every seven years or less. Wheel stops are not very expensive to purchase and, when you think about it, can actually save you thousands of dollars, as a lawsuit can be much more expensive for your company to deal with than buying a new wheel stop would be.

The old standby for wheel stops is concrete. You can walk into almost any parking lot or parking garage and find concrete wheel stops in their usual place. Wheel stops are essential to have in your parking lot or parking garage, as they can help keep people, and property, safe. But did you know that there is another choice aside from concrete?

Concrete wheel stops are inexpensive, this is true, but they also break down after seven years of use. When they break down the rebar becomes apparent and is in prime position to harm or injure someone. Rubber wheel stops are becoming very popular. They are created using a number of different kinds of materials, and can have a variety of pluses to them depending on what they are made from. Some are resistant to UV, others are resistant to oil, and some are temperature resistant. There are also some wheel stops made out of a very high quality rubber that are resistant to almost anything you can throw at them. Rubber wheel stops do not crack or rot, and no rebar will be exposed with them. They are extremely flexible and may be the future for all parking lots.

Many people believe that anything that is made from concrete will last for forever. Unfortunately this is not so. Concrete, just like most other materials, is apt to break down over time, and the more it is used, the quicker it will break down. The same holds true for wheel stops. Most parking lot managers believe that their wheel stops will last for a lifetime, but wheel stops that are placed in parking lots often take a lot of damage, requiring that they be changed frequently.

In fact, most wheel stops have a life span of about seven years, and while this seems like a long time, it can go by very quickly. If you wait until the seven years is up, you will be at risk for having the wheel stop break down entirely, causing the rebar to be exposed. Usually the rebar is exposed at the end of the wheel stop, which is a prime place for someone to trip or get accidentally cut by the rusted metal. If you would like to avoid having a lawsuit brought against you, and you know that your wheel stops are getting older, think about getting them replaced.

Wheel Stops serve a very important function when they are being used in a parking lot. They not only help those parking in your parking lot know where they should park and how far they should pull in, they also help to prevent damage to property, including other vehicles and landscapes. They may even help to save a life!

Even though they seem like such a small thing, wheel stops truly make a big impact. When someone is pulling into your parking lot or parking garage, a wheel stop helps them to quickly identify where they should park their car. When they pull in, a wheel stop helps them to see exactly where they should stop their car. Wheel stops keep the vehicle where they should be, so no matter what happens, the vehicle will remain safely parked. Quite often cars will unintentionally disengage from their parking gear, allowing them to roll where they would. Wheel stops keep the car from going very far and can help to keep property safe. They can even help to save a life, for as long as you plan your parking lot so that your customers walk in front of the wheel stops, a car will be unable to hit them.

You’ve got two children in the back seat of your vehicle and you’re trying to park your car so that you can get the grocery shopping done as quickly as possible. You pull into a parking lot and the next thing you know, everyone’s head goes flying forward because you were unable to see the wheel stops that were set to help you to park correctly. Although they often go unnoticed, wheel stops are an integral part of any parking lot or parking garage.

All too often, however, a parking lot manager will place wheel stops that are too low into the lot. When the stops are too low, it is easy for a drive to miss them, or to drive completely over them, ruining their tire or axle. If the wheel stops are too high, they can damage the bumper of the car very easily. Choosing the right size wheel stops isn’t as easy as it looks. Once you have good wheel stops in your lot, it is vital that you keep them freshly painted, as this makes them stand out from the pavement and helps the driver to see exactly where they should park.

You’ve purchased the land and have decided to build a parking lot or large parking garage. Owning a place where you can charge for parking is one way to earn quite a bit of cash, especially if you own a parking lot in an area that attracts tourists or where there are very few lots to park in. But what do you do once you’ve purchased the land and had the main structure completed?

The next step is to put in wheel stops and to have the lot striped. There are a number of good companies available to choose from when it comes to parking lot striping, but does that company also know how to properly space and paint wheel stops? If you are looking to get everything done at once, you can often save a bundle of money by hiring a company who has experience in every aspect of setting up a parking lot or parking garage. Wheel stops are just as important as having the striping spaced correctly apart, and when you hire a company that is experienced in creating a parking lot from the ground up, you can get the best outcome possible.

Have you ever given much of a thought to what keeps your vehicle from rolling away when you park it in a parking garage or in a parking lot? Wheel stops are sometimes known by other names, such as parking bumpers or parking blocks, but are beneficial to have placed in your parking lot or parking garage if you want to help your customers to keep their cars intact.

Most people do not think about wheel stops immediately because we are so used to seeing them. Any parking lot or parking garage you go into will have wheel stops placed in specific places. The purpose of these is to not only help mark where the vehicles should be parked, but also to help keep the vehicles where they are supposed to be. Occasionally a vehicle owner will forget to put their car in park, or their car may have a problem with it that causes it to drift on its own. Wheel stops are what keeps one vehicle from bumping into another when something malfunctions. When you’re setting up your parking lot, make sure that you put wheel stops in at the appropriate place.

When you are planning a parking lot, whether you are planning one from scratch or are re-designing one, do you ever think about the wheel stops? Wheel stops are an integral part of any parking lot, just as getting the lines painted correctly is an integral part. Wheel stops not only help people to keep their vehicles where they go, they also help people to know where to park.

Knowing where to park and having the proper spacing in a parking lot is extremely important. If your clients do not park in the right place, it could mean that doors get damaged and cars get dented. Wheel stops help the patrons to understand where to park. Wheel stops are also an important piece of the puzzle because they keep cars from rolling where they shouldn’t go. You would never believe how many times people leave their vehicles in the drive or neutral positions when they get out of a car. It happens very frequently, and wheel stops can prevent the forgetful owner from damaging any cars, including their own! If you’re planning on working on your parking lot, make sure that the wheel stops are in the right place and are helpful to drivers.