- Location
- Falmouth, Cornwall
- Main postcode district
- TR11
- Nearby (straight line)
- Truro (8 miles), Redruth (9 miles) and Camborne (11 miles)
- Survey and quote
- Free, with a fixed written quote
Dock traffic lights are red and green signals mounted outside and inside a loading bay to tell the driver and dock staff when it is safe to move or load. Interlocks are control links that stop equipment operating out of sequence, for example preventing the door opening until the trailer is restrained, or the leveller operating until the door is fully open.
Is this right for your site in Falmouth?
New warehouses in Falmouth can have lights and interlocks wired in during the electrical fit-out, avoiding retrofit cabling and keeping every bay on one control standard. Food and chilled operations around Falmouth with inflatable shelters often add interlocks so the shelter only inflates once a trailer is docked and restrained.
Sites around Falmouth that run night shifts often find traffic lights easier for drivers to read than staff waving or knocking on the cab door.
Before anything is ordered, we visit your site in Falmouth for a free survey and then send a written quote with a fixed price. From that point we manage the installation, coordinating delivery, access and any other trades. Fitting is done by specialist installation engineers engaged and managed by us, at times that suit your operation, including out of hours where agreed. You get a tested installation, a demonstration for your team and the manufacturer documentation.
What does HSE guidance say about stopping drivers leaving too early?
HSE guidance (followed by HSENI in Northern Ireland) says there should be safeguards against drivers driving away from a loading bay too early, and it names traffic lights as one of the measures. Vehicle or trailer restraints, and the person in charge keeping keys or paperwork until it is safe, are the others listed in HSE's guide to workplace transport safety (HSG136) and its loading factsheet.
Traffic lights are a signal, not a physical barrier, so they work best as part of a clear procedure or alongside a restraint. Your risk assessment should decide the combination. In Northern Ireland the regulator is HSENI.
Interlocks also touch on door safety law. Under regulation 18 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, or the Northern Ireland 1993 equivalent, powered doors need suitable and effective features to prevent them trapping anyone. Interlocks must never bypass those features, and door control work should respect BS EN 12453, the standard for safety in use of power-operated doors.
Read more in our guide to preventing drive-away and trailer creep.
How do inside and outside dock traffic lights work together?
Inside and outside dock lights always show opposite colours: when the driver sees red, dock staff see green, and the other way round. Each light is aimed at a different person, so each one only ever gives one instruction.
- Outside light, facing the driver: red means stay on the bay because loading is in progress; green means the bay is clear to leave or to reverse on to.
- Inside light, facing dock staff: green means the trailer is in place and it is safe to open the door and load; red means do not open the door or enter the trailer.
Lights can be switched in three main ways:
- Manually, by a switch beside the door, relying on dock staff to change it at the right moment.
- By door position, so opening the door automatically turns the outside light red.
- By the restraint, so the light only changes when the trailer is physically held.
The same published guide range applies across England; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.
What we look at on site
- Temperature requirements for chilled, frozen or ambient goods
- Wind exposure at the dock, which affects door and shelter choice
- Bumper position and wear or damage on the dock face
- Dock height and the mix of trailers you load
- Clear opening width and height for each door
- Drainage on recessed or sloping dock approaches
Options to discuss
Standalone LED traffic lights
A red and green pair for each bay, one outside for the driver and one inside for dock staff, switched manually from a control beside the door.
Full bay interlock panel
A single control panel that runs the door, leveller, restraint and shelter in the correct sequence, with indicators showing which step is active or blocked.
Regulations and approvals in England
Sites in Falmouth fall under the rules for England. Structural changes such as forming a new opening or a dock leveller pit may need Building Regulations approval, and external structures such as loading houses, canopies or new dock approaches can need planning permission from the local planning authority. We check what applies at survey and build any approvals into the plan.
Questions about dock traffic lights and interlocks in Falmouth
What details do you need from us to quote for dock traffic lights and interlocks?
To get started, send the site address in Falmouth, the number of bays or openings, approximate sizes, and photos of the dock from inside and outside. Tell us what vehicles you load, what goods you handle and any temperature requirements. Drawings help on new builds. We then arrange the free survey and confirm the details before the written quote is issued.
Do you cover Falmouth for dock traffic lights and interlocks?
Yes. We take on dock traffic lights and interlocks for businesses in Falmouth and across Cornwall. We survey the site, provide a fixed written quote and manage the installation, with specialist installation engineers working under our management. Visits are arranged in advance at a time that suits your operation, and the same single contact stays with the job through to handover.
Do you remove and dispose of the old equipment?
Yes, where it is part of the scope. When we replace doors, levellers, shelters or seals at a site in Falmouth, removal and disposal of the old equipment can be included and is itemised in the quote, so it is clear what is covered. If anything should be kept, such as a frame or motor that is still serviceable, we agree that at survey.
Can you add lights and interlocks across a whole dock in one project?
Yes. A whole-dock project is usually phased bay by bay so most doors stay in use, and every bay ends up on the same control standard. That consistency makes training easier for staff and drivers, and it simplifies servicing because every bay behaves in the same way.
Are dock traffic lights enough on their own to stop drive-away?
Traffic lights on their own are a signal, not a physical barrier, so they depend on drivers obeying them. HSE lists traffic lights among the measures against early drive-away, and many sites combine them with key or paperwork control or with a vehicle restraint. The right combination should come from your workplace transport risk assessment.
Dock traffic lights and interlocks near Falmouth
We also cover towns near Falmouth, including Truro (8 miles), Redruth (9 miles) and Camborne (11 miles). Each has its own page with the same services and process.
Other loading bay services in Falmouth
Full guide to dock traffic lights and interlocks · Everything we do in Falmouth
Get in touch about loading bay doors and dock equipment in Falmouth: call, email or use the quote tool.