Loading Bay Safety: Managing HGV Movement and Risk
Loading bays are designed around movement. HGVs arrive, manoeuvre into position, unload, pull away and are replaced by the next vehicle. That routine can make the risks feel familiar.
However, repeated vehicle movements, concentrated trailer loads and restricted visibility can gradually create problems around even well-established loading areas. Good loading bay safety is therefore not about installing one barrier or one piece of equipment. It starts by understanding how vehicles approach the site, where they reverse and where they stop. It also means considering what needs protecting once a vehicle is in position.
Reversing Deserves Particular Attention
Vehicle movement remains a serious workplace risk. In 2025/26, 24 workers in Great Britain were killed after being struck by a moving vehicle. That made it the second most common type of fatal workplace accident recorded that year, according to HSE workplace fatality statistics.
Reversing deserves particular attention. HSE states that nearly a quarter of all deaths involving workplace transport occur during reversing. For loading bays, that is especially relevant. HGVs often need to reverse into confined spaces beside buildings, other vehicles, equipment and pedestrian activity.
Where possible, HSE reversing guidance recommends removing the need for reversing altogether. One-way systems and drive-through loading areas are two examples. Where reversing cannot be avoided, routes should be organised to minimise it and reversing areas should be properly controlled.
Visibility also matters. With articulated vehicles, parts of the trailer can restrict a driver’s view while reverse steering into a loading area. Therefore, layout, pedestrian segregation and clear vehicle guidance all need to work together.
Why Do Trailer Landing Legs Need Protection Beneath Them?
Once a trailer reaches the bay, the risk changes.
When an uncoupled trailer is supported by its landing legs, its weight is transferred through relatively small contact areas. That concentrated load is then applied directly to the surface below. Over time, repeated contact in the same positions can contribute to wear and localised deterioration of the concrete. It can also create ongoing maintenance requirements around an important operational area.
This is where HGV Landing Plates perform a specific job. Rather than allowing the trailer legs to repeatedly contact the concrete directly, the plate provides a defined landing area. It also helps distribute the load across a larger surface.
Brandsafe HGV Landing Plates are manufactured from 15 mm HDPE. They are available in 1000 x 1000 mm and 1000 x 2000 mm sizes for different loading bay requirements. Their bright yellow finish also serves a practical purpose, making the intended landing position easier to identify during day-to-day operations.
This was one of the considerations at Great Bear Distribution’s Minworth facility. Brandsafe installed HGV Landing Plates beneath designated trailer landing-leg positions across the loading area. The completed installation can be seen in our Great Bear Distribution Minworth case study.
Wheel Guides Solve a Different Problem
Landing plates protect the surface once the trailer has reached its position. HGV Dock Wheel Guides deal with the approach.
They provide a physical reference during the final stages of reversing. This can help drivers position trailers more consistently in relation to the loading dock. That matters because an articulated vehicle needs enough space and guidance to complete its approach correctly. A poor approach can require additional steering corrections and may place a trailer too close to neighbouring infrastructure.
Brandsafe Straight Dock Wheel Guides are 2000 mm long and are available in 150 mm and 200 mm heights. Straight guides are commonly used where a direct approach is required. Cranked alternatives can provide a more funnelled approach where the site layout calls for it.
High-visibility sections and reflective markers can also make the guides easier to identify during vehicle movements. At Minworth, the wheel guides and landing plates therefore performed two separate jobs. One supported the approach and final positioning. The other protected the surface once the trailer was in place.
Loading Bay Safety Starts Before the Loading Bay
This is perhaps the most important point. A well-protected dock does not solve poor traffic management elsewhere in the yard.
HSE workplace transport guidance recommends considering how all vehicles and people move around a workplace. Wherever possible, pedestrian and vehicle routes should be separated. Suitable crossing points, adequate lighting and safe loading areas should also form part of the wider layout.
Different controls can then address different risks:
- Speed bumps can encourage lower vehicle speeds on approach.
- Wheel stops can help define parking and stopping positions.
- Flexible delineators can help define vehicle routes, parking areas and pedestrian zones.
- Lamp post and sign post protectors can improve visibility around exposed infrastructure and help protect vulnerable posts from vehicle contact.
- Bollards can provide targeted protection around corners, doorways, EV charging points and exposed equipment.
- Armco barrierscan provide longer runs of protection around buildings, infrastructure and vehicle routes.
The important point is not simply to install more products. Each control should respond to a specific movement, hazard or vulnerable area.
Some Loading Bay Risks Are Surprisingly Simple
Not every improvement needs to involve a major engineering project. Space is a good example.
HSE advises that loading areas need enough room for vehicles to manoeuvre. There should also be enough space for people to move safely around them. People who are not involved in loading or unloading should be kept away from the area. This reduces unnecessary interaction between pedestrians and moving vehicles.
There are less obvious design considerations too. HSE loading and unloading guidance states that wide loading areas will usually need at least two pedestrian exit points, one at each end. Alternatively, a suitable refuge or bolthole may be appropriate in some larger loading areas.
That may seem like a small detail. However, it matters if a pedestrian needs a safe route away from a moving vehicle.
The condition of the yard is also important. Workplace traffic routes need surfaces that are suitable for their intended use. Uneven areas, repeated wear and damaged surfaces should therefore form part of regular site reviews rather than only being considered after they become a problem.
Together, these points show why loading bay safety should be considered as a complete system. Vehicle movement, pedestrian routes, surfaces, visibility and physical protection are all connected.
Look at the Movement, Not Just the Product
The strongest loading bay protection strategies start with a simple question: what actually happens here every day?
Follow the HGV from the site entrance to the loading bay.
- Where does it slow down?
- Where does it turn?
- Where does the driver lose visibility?
- Where does it reverse, and what could it strike?
Then consider the final position.
- Where will the trailer legs sit?
- Which parts of the building are exposed?
- Where are pedestrians moving at the same time?
Those answers help determine where physical protection can genuinely add value.
The Minworth project provides a useful example. HGV Dock Wheel Guides were used for the approach and positioning stage. HGV Landing Plates addressed repeated loading at the final trailer position. Neither product is intended to solve every loading bay risk.
Instead, they form part of a wider system. Good site design, traffic management and safe working procedures all have a role to play. Appropriate impact protection can then support those measures in the areas where it is needed.
Review Your Loading Bay Protection
Brandsafe works with warehouses, distribution centres and industrial facilities to identify vehicle movement risks and develop practical protection solutions.
Protection can be selected around how a site actually operates. This can include HGV Landing Plates, Dock Wheel Guides, wheel stops, bollards, speed management and Armco systems.
