Spike Strips
Stop Sticks vs Spike Strips: The Real Difference
Cojo
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6 min read
Stop sticks and commercial tire spike strips are entirely different products serving entirely different markets. Stop sticks are hollow-quill deployable mats that law-enforcement officers use to end vehicle pursuits on public roadways. Commercial tire spike strips are fixed steel-tooth installations at one-way parking-lot exit lanes that enforce direction passively. If you're shopping for hardware to enforce a parking lot exit, you want commercial spike strips, not stop sticks. If you're a sworn law-enforcement officer looking for pursuit-termination hardware, source through your agency's procurement channel — not a parking-lot contractor.
This article exists to draw the line cleanly. For commercial property buyers, the rest of our cluster covers what you actually want — start with our commercial tire spike strips guide.
| Attribute | Stop Sticks (police) | Commercial Spike Strips |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | Deployable hollow tube with fold-out quills | Fixed steel-tooth strip |
| Use case | Vehicle pursuit termination on public road | One-way parking-lot exit enforcement |
| Operator | Sworn law-enforcement officer | None (passive) |
| Installation | Tossed across roadway during incident | Permanently anchored in pavement |
| Tire effect | Controlled hollow-quill deflation | Spring-loaded puncture |
| Buyer | Police agency procurement | Commercial property owner / manager |
| Typical cost | $400 to $800 per stick (police) | $1,500 to $5,000 installed (commercial) |
| Regulatory framework | State DOT pursuit policy | MUTCD signage + private-property law |
The phrase "stop sticks vs spike strips" reflects honest confusion among commercial property buyers who searched once for "spike strips" and got back police-pursuit results. The SERP for "spike strips" is dominated by:
For commercial buyers, that's misleading. The product they actually need lives under different head terms: "tire spike strips," "one way traffic spikes," "parking lot exit spikes," and "tire deflation device." We wrote this article to redirect the SERP traffic that lands here looking for police hardware, while serving the commercial buyer who's in the right place.
If you're a sworn law-enforcement officer, this guide isn't your sourcing path. Contact your agency's procurement office or the original manufacturer directly. We don't sell deployable pursuit-termination hardware.
If you're a commercial property buyer, keep reading.
Police stop sticks are deployable. An officer arrives at a pursuit termination point, removes the stick from the vehicle, and tosses it across the road in front of the suspect vehicle. The hollow quills break off into the tire, allowing controlled deflation over a 30 to 90 second window so the vehicle slows safely rather than blowing tires explosively. The mat is meant to be retrieved after the incident and is single-use per quill but reusable per stick body.
Commercial fixed spike strips do not deploy or retract. They are installed once, anchored to the pavement, and stay put. They enforce one-way travel for the operational life of the strip (typically 5 to 7 years). They are not a pursuit tool and they are not designed for high-speed impact -- the spike geometry is calibrated for slow parking-lot speeds (under 15 mph typical).
Commercial fixed spike strips:
Police stop sticks do none of these. They are a single-incident tool, stored in a vehicle, used and replaced.
Industry Baseline Range
| Component | Stop Sticks | Commercial Spike Strips |
|---|---|---|
| Unit cost | $400 to $800 per stick | $400 to $1,200 per surface-mount unit |
| Installation cost | None (deployed in incident) | $1,500 to $3,500 saw-cut and anchor |
| Signage (MUTCD) | Not required | $400 to $900 typical |
| 10-year operational cost | Replacement of consumed sticks | $1,500 to $4,000 maintenance |
The commercial product is a capital install with a 10-year operating profile. The police product is a consumable inventory item that gets used per pursuit. They are not financially comparable; they serve different cost structures because they serve different jobs.
Police pursuit-termination devices are governed by state law-enforcement pursuit policy, agency-specific use-of-force frameworks, and federal civil-rights case law. The Bureau of Justice Assistance and state DOJs publish guidance on pursuit-termination device use.
Commercial fixed spike strips are governed by:
The legal frameworks do not overlap. Conflating them creates real legal exposure for property owners who think the two products are interchangeable. They are not.
For the legal-on-private-property breakdown specifically, see our are tire spikes legal on private property guide.
Some properties have a specific pursuit-related concern (e.g. hospital lots that experience occasional vehicle pursuits ending on-site) and a specific commercial enforcement need (e.g. one-way exit lane). In those rare cases the answer is two separate products: an installed commercial spike strip on the exit lane, and coordination with local law-enforcement on pursuit-termination protocols. The hospital is not buying stop sticks themselves; the police agency provides those.
For other applications where deterrence is needed but tire damage is not desired, see our comparison of tire spike strips vs tire deflation device cluster article.
If you searched "stop sticks vs spike strips" and you are reading this on a parking-lot products site, you almost certainly want a commercial product. Most likely:
For brand-by-brand selection, see best tire spike strips for parking lots. For your local install, our city pages cover the major Oregon metros (Portland, Salem, Eugene, Bend).
For striping and signage paired with a spike-strip install, see our Salem parking lot striping page.
We install commercial fixed spike strips across Oregon. We don't sell deployable police pursuit-termination hardware, and we don't service stop sticks. If your need is the commercial product, our team can walk your site and recommend the right surface-mount or recessed unit for your traffic pattern.
Compliance disclaimer: Always verify current requirements with your local jurisdiction and consult an attorney before installing tire-damage devices on private property. This article reflects May 2026 specifications.
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