Parking Lot Wheel Stops: Rubber vs Concrete, Placement and Installing on Asphalt

Parking lot wheel stops (also called parking blocks, bumper stops or curb stops) are low bars placed at the head of a parking space so drivers know when to stop. Most are about 6 feet long and a few inches tall, made of precast concrete, recycled rubber or plastic, and pinned to asphalt with steel spikes or rebar driven through holes in the stop. Rubber is lighter and easier to install and move; concrete is heavier and cheaper per unit in many areas but chips and cracks. Placement matters as much as material: stops should keep bumpers off walls, sidewalks and landscaping without creating a trip hazard in walking paths.

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What Wheel Stops Are For

• Keep vehicles from rolling into buildings, fences, storefront glass or equipment
• Stop front bumpers from overhanging a sidewalk and narrowing the walking space
• Protect landscaping, light poles and utility boxes
• Help drivers line up in spaces, especially head-to-head rows without curbs

Rubber vs Concrete vs Plastic

Material	Pros	Cons
Recycled rubber	Light enough for one or two people, flexes with pavement, won't chip, often has molded-in reflective strips	Can shift if under-pinned; higher price per unit in some markets
Precast concrete	Heavy, durable, widely available	Heavy to handle (often needs two people or equipment), chips and cracks, can scrape bumpers
Plastic or polymer	Very light, bright colors	Less durable under heavy trucks and plows; can fade

For small lots, private garages and warehouses, rubber wheel stops are popular because a single person can install them. Concrete remains common on large lots where crews have equipment to set them.

Where to Put Them

There isn't one universal dimension, and local codes or accessibility rules may govern placement, especially near accessible spaces and routes. General practice:

• Set back from the obstacle. Stops are commonly placed a couple of feet in from the curb, wall or walkway so the front overhang of a typical car stops short of it.
• Center them in the space, leaving room at each end for walking between cars.
• Keep them out of accessible routes. A wheel stop must not sit in a path people need to walk through, including the access aisle beside accessible spaces.
• Consider plows. In snowy areas, stops get buried and hit by plows. Some owners skip them where a curb already does the job, or mark them with tall stakes in winter.

Plan stops alongside the striping layout; our guide to parking lot striping cost covers layout and repainting.

Installing Wheel Stops on Asphalt

1. Mark the location for each stop with chalk, measuring from the curb or wall so the row is straight.
2. Set the stop in place and mark through its pin holes.
3. Drill pilot holes into the asphalt with a rotary hammer and a long bit. Pilot holes keep the asphalt from cracking and make driving the pins much easier.
4. Drive the pins. Most asphalt installs use steel spikes or lengths of rebar, commonly 12 to 18 inches or longer, driven through the stop into the asphalt and base. Longer pins hold better in soft or thin pavement.
5. Check that pins sit flush or slightly below the top of the stop so nothing sticks up.

A sledge or drilling hammer drives the pins. On thin asphalt over poor base, pins can loosen over time; adhesive made for the purpose, or anchors into concrete where available, can help. See drilling and anchoring into asphalt for more on anchors.

Avoiding Trip Hazards

Wheel stops are a known trip hazard because they're low and easy to miss, particularly at night or when drivers park crooked. Reduce the risk:

• Choose stops with bright color or reflective strips, or paint concrete stops yellow
• Add reflective tape where lighting is poor
• Don't place them where pedestrians cut through
• Replace broken or displaced stops promptly, since a stop angled into the aisle is worse than none
• Where a continuous curb already stops cars, you may not need stops at all

Wheel Stops in Garages and Homes

Wheel stops aren't only for commercial lots. In a residential garage, a short stop keeps a car from bumping a workbench or the back wall. On a home driveway, stops can keep a car from rolling into a fence or landscaping at the end of a parking pad. In a garage with a concrete floor, stops are usually attached with concrete anchors or adhesive rather than driven spikes. For a home asphalt driveway, the same pilot-hole-and-spike method works, though a lighter rubber stop is usually plenty.

Maintenance

Inspect stops each spring and after winter. Re-pin any that have crept, remove broken concrete pieces, and repaint or re-tape faded ones. When the lot is sealcoated, stops are usually lifted off, the pavement sealed underneath, and the stops reset. If you are budgeting sealer for the lot, our sealer calculator estimates gallons from square footage. It's also a good time to fill the old pin holes and drill fresh ones if the originals have loosened.

Wheel Stops vs Speed Bumps

They're sometimes confused. Wheel stops sit at the end of a space to stop a parked car. Speed bumps and humps cross drive aisles to slow moving traffic. Rubber speed bumps install much the same way but are designed and sized differently; see our asphalt speed bump guide for that side.

Cost Factors

Unit price depends on material, length, supplier and freight; shipping heavy concrete stops can add significantly to the cost. Installation cost depends on quantity, whether old stops must be removed, pin length and the pavement condition. Many striping and sealcoating contractors install stops as part of a lot refresh.

Bottom Line on Parking Lot Wheel Stops

Choose rubber for easy handling and fewer chips, or concrete where weight and budget matter and a crew can set them. Place stops so front bumpers stay off walls and sidewalks, keep them out of walking routes, pin them securely with pilot holes, and make them highly visible. Revisit them every season so a helpful stop doesn't turn into a hazard.