Forklifts don't have to kill

Watch the evening news on any given night and chances are good you’ll see reports of highway carnage. I’m not talking about fender benders, but real, bloody, ugly wrecks. These reports usually conclude with “The victims were not wearing seat belts.”

The industrial world is not without its own version of “if it bleeds it leads.” Just take a look at some of the accident summaries compiled by federal OSHA. Here are a few:

“FORKLIFT TIPOVER: While an employee was operating a forklift, the forklift tipped over while the operator was apparently making a sharp turn at excessive speed. No seat belt was installed and when employee fell from the seat he was crushed by the rollover bar.”

“FORKLIFT TIPOVER: An employee was driving an unloaded forklift down a ramp with a 13% slope when the forklift started to tip over. The operator attempted to jump clear and the ROP of the forklift landed on him and killed him. The employee was not wearing the supplied seatbelt.”

“FORKLIFT TIPOVER: The victim/operator drove a forklift down a ramp rapidly and appeared to be attempting to make a sharp left turn. The forklift overturned. Apparently, the employee was unaccustomed to the quickness and sharp turning radius of the new forklift. The victim was not wearing the provided seatbelt. The driver/victim was dislodged from the seat and his head was caught under the overhead protective cage.”

Most of us know by now that just as it’s foolhardy to drink and drive, it’s equally foolish to get behind the wheel of any vehicle—industrial or highway—without buckling up. That hasn’t restrained the American Trucking Associations, Inc. (“ATA”) from petitioning California OSHA to rescind its proposal to require the use of seat belts/operator restraint systems when provided on lift trucks.

ATA’s argument is that restraints reduce efficiency, they won’t always be used by operators, and that they might cause ergonomic problems and reduce visibility (because operators are constantly turning around to drive backward). ATA has even argued that Cal-OSHA might simultaneously require operators to use operator restraints and then cite them for violating California’s ergonomics standard when they do so. Talk about a Catch-22!

OSHA’s position on restraints is clear. Employers are obligated to require operators of powered industrial trucks which are equipped with operator restraint devices or seat belts to use the devices. OSHA’s Inspection Guide for Forklift Operators puts it quite well:

“Seat belts in forklift trucks are a component part of an operator restraint system that is designed to reduce the incidence and severity of injuries to the operator in the event of a tipover accident. Forklift trucks are particularly susceptible to tipovers. Failure to wear the seat belt that is provided in the forklift increases the risk of injury to the operator in the event of such an accident.”

That’s why earlier this year OSHA cited an employer $70,000 for failing to instruct its employees in the use of operator restraints. Bottom line when it comes to operator restraints in lift trucks: if you got ‘em, use ‘em.