Wheel Chocks
OSHA Wheel Chock Requirements Explained (2026)
Cojo
May 7, 2026
7 min read
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178(k)(1) requires that "the brakes of highway trucks shall be set and wheel chocks placed under the rear wheels to prevent the trucks from rolling while they are boarded with powered industrial trucks." That single sentence governs roughly half of all industrial wheel-chock use in the United States. A loading-dock site with forklifts entering parked trucks is in violation of OSHA the moment chocks are absent or improperly placed. Penalties range from informal citation to repeat-violation willful penalties exceeding $150,000 per instance.
The OSHA Powered Industrial Truck standard at 29 CFR 1910.178 governs forklift and similar equipment use across general industry. Section (k) addresses "trucks and railroad cars" and contains five paragraphs relevant to wheel-chock compliance. The complete text of paragraph (1) reads:
"The brakes of highway trucks shall be set and wheel chocks placed under the rear wheels to prevent the trucks from rolling while they are boarded with powered industrial trucks."
Three obligations sit inside that sentence:
Paragraphs (2) through (5) of the same section cover related dock-safety controls including positive protection from rolling (dock-lock systems), trailer fixed-jack support, and trailer-uncoupling sequence. The chock-and-brake requirement of paragraph (1) is the primary citation source.
The standard applies to any general-industry employer in the United States. Three site categories drive the bulk of citations:
Construction sites, agricultural operations, and longshoring use separate standards (29 CFR 1926, 29 CFR 1928, 29 CFR 1918 respectively) but each has its own chock requirement.
OSHA citation penalty structure (effective January 2026 inflation adjustment):
| Citation Type | Per-Instance Maximum |
|---|---|
| Other-than-serious | $16,131 |
| Serious | $16,131 |
| Repeat | $161,323 |
| Willful | $161,323 |
The U.S. Department of Labor publishes citation history that confirms wheel-chock violations remain in the top 25 most-cited general-industry standards every year.
DOT and OSHA cover overlapping but distinct ground. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations at 49 CFR 392.20 cover the parked commercial motor vehicle:
"No commercial motor vehicle shall be left unattended until the parking brake has been securely set, the wheels chocked, the steering wheel adjusted to prevent uncontrolled motion of the vehicle, and the engine stopped."
The DOT regulation places responsibility on the driver. The OSHA regulation places responsibility on the dock-side employer. Most loading-dock incidents implicate both regulations, and enforcement actions often include parallel DOT and OSHA citations against the truck operator and the warehouse operator respectively.
The Federal Aviation Administration's Advisory Circular AC 150/5210-25 covers aviation ground-support equipment standards. Aircraft on parking ramps require chocks at the main landing gear when the parking brake alone is insufficient -- long-term parking, high-wind conditions, refueling operations, or after engine shutdown.
Aviation chock requirements are operator-policy driven rather than directly federally mandated for general aviation, but the FAA's careless-or-reckless operation rule at 14 CFR 91.13 reaches aircraft left unchecked on the ramp. Air carriers operating under 14 CFR Part 121 typically have written chock policies that exceed FAA minimums.
Six controls combine to deliver OSHA dock-safety compliance:
Two chocks per parked truck, placed against the rear tires after the parking brake is set. Sized for the truck class -- 15-inch heavy-duty rubber chocks for Class 8 trucks. See our how to use wheel chocks guide for the placement sequence.
A mechanical dock-lock device that engages the truck's rear-mounted ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) bar provides equivalent positive protection. OSHA accepts dock-lock as compliance equivalent to chocks at 29 CFR 1910.178(k). Many high-volume distribution centers use dock-lock as primary control with chocks as redundant backup. See our dock wheel chocks vs dock locks comparison for cost and operations differences.
29 CFR 1910.178(k)(2) requires fixed jacks under trailers detached from tractors to prevent landing-gear collapse during forklift loading.
The dock operator confirms the trailer is properly coupled to the tractor (or jacked-and-chocked if detached) before forklift entry.
A documented signal procedure (LED panel, two-way radio, or visual hand signal) for the dock operator to communicate "cleared to enter" to the forklift operator.
OSHA's general-duty clause requires a written dock-safety procedure documenting the chock-and-brake sequence, lockout responsibilities, and incident-response steps.
Cojo's industrial-customer dock walks have documented five recurring citation findings:
Each finding is preventable through procedure documentation and quarterly compliance walks. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) framework recommends quarterly audit cadence for dock-safety controls.
Oregon operates its own state-plan OSHA program (Oregon OSHA, "OR-OSHA") under federal approval. OR-OSHA enforces the same 29 CFR 1910.178(k) standard at Oregon general-industry sites and is generally regarded as among the more active state-plan programs in the country. OR-OSHA inspection cadence and penalty assessment broadly track federal OSHA, with some state-specific procedural differences. The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) houses OR-OSHA and publishes inspection data quarterly.
In April 2026 Cojo's lead estimator (NICET Level III, OSHA-30 certified) walked OSHA chock-and-brake compliance with the safety committee at a Hillsboro distribution warehouse. The walk caught two procedural drift issues -- chocks placed before brakes set (Step 2 sequencing error) and an informal cleared-signal procedure that failed the general-duty-clause documentation test. Both were corrected in the same shift. The same site procured 24 heavy-duty rubber chocks through Cojo's industrial supply channel that week, replacing an aging fleet that had begun to show edge wear at 7 years of service. The procurement and procedural correction were sequenced as a single project to deliver compliance and inventory refresh together.
OSHA wheel-chock compliance combines correct equipment, correct placement procedure, written dock-safety policy, and a documented compliance audit cadence. Cojo's site walks include chock-and-brake procedure review as part of broader parking-products and dock-safety planning. Get a custom quote.
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