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Toolbox talk · 10 min · Forklifts & Mobile Equipment

Dock Plates and Trailer Creep

Hazards: Trailer creep and pull-away · Forklift driving off the dock edge · Dock plate shifting or collapsing · Crushing between trailer and dock · Weak or damaged trailer flooring

Why it matters

On November 15, 2024, a stock handler was carrying load locks out of a trailer. The truck pulled forward as he stepped onto the dock leveler; he fell into the gap, and when the truck backed up he was pinned between the trailer and the leveler. He died of a fractured pelvis and internal injuries (OSHA Accident Search, Summary Nr 171961.015). A year earlier an operator backed a forklift off a dock and went down with it (Summary Nr 159235.015). The dock is four feet of floor that will kill you.

Key points

  • Chocks and brakes before the wheels roll. 1910.178(k)(1) and (m)(7): brakes set, chocks under the rear wheels — or an engaged vehicle restraint. 1910.26(d) says the same for anyone on the dockboard.
  • Trailer creep is real. Every pass walks the trailer out a little. Look at the gap under the plate each trip, not just on the first one.
  • Secure the plate, know its number. 1910.178(n)(11): dock plates are secured before they are driven over, driven over slowly, and their rated capacity is never exceeded — truck plus load plus operator.
  • Check the trailer floor and the jacks. 1910.178(m)(7) requires the flooring of trucks, trailers and rail cars to be checked for breaks and weakness before driving on; (k)(3) calls for fixed jacks where an uncoupled semitrailer could upend.
  • Stay back from the edge. 1910.178(m)(6): keep a safe distance from the edge of any elevated dock, platform or freight car — and never use the truck to open or close freight doors.
  • Nobody moves the truck but the person who knows. Keys, a comms system or a dock light — pick one and use it every time, so no driver ever pulls out with a forklift inside.

Do / Don't

Do

  • Set the chocks yourself and look at them before entering.
  • Slow to a crawl over the plate, square to it.
  • Stop and re-set if the gap under the plate has opened.

Don't

  • Take the driver's word that the trailer is chocked.
  • Bridge a gap with a plate that is bent, cracked or unmarked.
  • Back toward the dock edge without a spotter or a wheel stop.

Quick site check

  • Chocks in the rack at every door, or missing at half of them?
  • Dock plates: capacity legible, no cracked welds, lugs seated?
  • What keeps a driver from pulling away right now — a rule, a light, or nothing?
Discussion — ask the crew
  1. Who owns the chocks on this dock — us or the driver — and what happens when there are none in the rack?
  2. Have you ever felt a trailer walk away from the dock while you were in it? What did you do?
  3. Do we know the rated capacity of our dock plates, and is it still legible on them?
  4. What is our rule for keeping a driver from pulling out while a truck is inside the trailer?
  5. Which trailer floors do we not trust, and how do we check before driving on?
Refs: 29 CFR 1910.178 — Powered industrial trucks ((k) trucks and railroad cars, (m)(6)-(7), (n)(11) dockboards) · 29 CFR 1910.26 — Dockboards (run-off protection, securing, chocks and sand shoes, handholds) · 29 CFR 1910.30 — Training requirements ((b)(2) placing and securing a dockboard) · OSHA Accident Search — Summary Nr 171961.015 (11/15/2024) and 159235.015 (08/22/2023)Sign-in sheet included in the printed version

Frequently asked questions

Yes, for the truck being loaded by a powered industrial truck: 29 CFR 1910.178(k)(1) requires the brakes of highway trucks to be set and wheel chocks placed under the rear wheels. 1910.178(m)(7) repeats it for trucks, trailers and rail cars, and 1910.26(d) requires chocks or sand shoes to keep the transport vehicle from moving while employees are on the dockboard. A restraint or vehicle hold device that keeps the trailer from moving is the recognized equivalent.

Repeated forklift travel in and out of a trailer walks it away from the dock a fraction of an inch at a time, opening a gap under the dock plate. It is one of the ways people fall or get crushed at the dock edge without anyone touching the tractor.

Dockboards put into initial service on or after January 17, 2017 must be designed, constructed and maintained to prevent transfer vehicles from running off the edge, under 29 CFR 1910.26(b)(1) — unless the employer can demonstrate there is no run-off hazard. Portable dockboards must also be anchored or otherwise secured under (c), and 1910.178(n)(11) requires them to be secured before anything is driven over them.

No. 1910.178(n)(11) says the rated capacity of a dockboard or bridge plate is never to be exceeded, and 1910.26(a) requires the dockboard to support the maximum intended load. Remember the load is the truck plus its load plus the operator, not the pallet alone.

Yes. 29 CFR 1910.30(b)(2) requires the employer to train each employee who uses a dockboard to properly place and secure it to prevent unintentional movement.

Sources & references

Content checked against these sources — last reviewed August 28, 2026.

Results are estimates for planning purposes and do not replace a competent person's evaluation or an engineer's design. Follow the OSHA standards that apply to your work and your employer's written program.

By — Editorial team of SteelToeTools.com (published by LSEA SAS) Updated