Since 1995, Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA, www.osha.gov ) inspectors have been tough on lift truck drivers, enforcing safety standards requiring the use of seatbelts. Break that rule, and your employer gets cited by the feds.

Now, some workplace owners have petitioned OSHA to roll back those standards. Released Sept. 26, the federal agency's draft document says all is forgiven if the workplace is safe enough. That's determined by four standards; whether the workplace is clean and flat, the truck is well-maintained, the truck is used within safe limits, and the driver is well-trained.

The draft says: "Where an evaluation of the above factors, and of any other factor determined to be relevant, indicates that the possibility of a tipover is remote, and in fact there is no history of tipovers or near misses, a citation for failure to use an active operator protection device or system will not be issued."

"Theoretically, it's not a bad argument," says William J. Montwieler, executive director of the Industrial Truck Association (www.ita.org). "But realistically, it's a dream world. Since 1990, all forklifts have come with seatbelts. The reason is that you rarely have an environment that's totally safe or a driver that's totally trained. Put those two together and you get accidents."

Supporters of the change hope to boost workers' productivity, especially when they're driving the trucks backwards, Montwieler says. "The ITA, representing manufacturers of lift trucks, thinks that's an awful idea."

"The ANSI B 56.1 standard, which calls for the use of operator restraint devices, was developed by forklift manufacturers, users, insurers, labor unions, and various safety experts. There is no exception in the ANSI standard, and there shouldn't be one for the unrealistic world that OSHA describes."

He cites OSHA statistics that 110 people are killed every year in forklift accidents. And comparing the regulation to the automobile seatbelt law, Montwieler says that drivers can't opt out of wearing their seatbelts because of inconvenience.

"This proposed policy puts perceived productivity ahead of demonstrable safety," Montwieler says.

ITA plans to lobby OSHA to keep the regulations in place, submitting its comments by a Dec. 1 deadline.