Forklifts: Safe Driving Tips

Yesterday’s Advisor began a discussion of how not to be April (or any other month) foolish in operating a forklift truck. Step number one is properly carrying out the OSHA-required inspection of the unit, at least daily, or after each shift if used round-the-clock.

Today, let’s get into some of the key precautions your operators need to take while operating the unit.

We can do this courtesy of the experts who created BLR’s Training Solutions Toolkit: Forklift Safety. It’s a program that illustrates, in professionally acted video, many of the foolish things forklift users do. Here are some of the areas in which danger is greatest.

Loading and unloading. By its nature, a forklift is unstable, with a heavy load perched at just one end. And the higher the load is lifted, the more the center of gravity shifts upward, increasing instability. To counter this, operators need to learn to get the forks under the pallet as far as possible and to be sure they are centered under it. Then, once on the truck, the load should be carried as low as possible, with the mast tilted back to further shift the weight toward the truck’s center.

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Don’t just tell forklift operators what to do. Show them with action footage on DVD in BLR’s Training Solutions Toolkit: Forklift Safety. Read more.

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Ramps and turns. The key to safety here is to adjust for speed and circumstances. Many ramps will need to be taken in reverse, with the load oriented uphill. This transfers the weight toward the truck and, of course, helps prevent the load from sliding off. Turns should always be taken slowly—a challenge for some inexperienced operators, entranced by the forklift’s quick acceleration, who may be tempted to “hot rod” their trucks around the workplace.

Uneven surfaces. Pounded by heavy truck use, many industrial roads are pitted and strewn with potholes. Factory and warehouse floors are also often uneven. Additional hazards are posed by railroad tracks, bridge plates, or even open gaps to be crossed in entering and leaving truck trailers or rail cars at loading docks. Operators must actively look for these hazards, and adjust their speed and steering to compensate.

Refueling hazards. Forklifts are powered in three ways: gas, propane, and battery-electric. Each has its own special hazards when refueling or recharging, and most new operators will need to be trained in how it’s done right. If the batteries on an electric-powered forklift are low in fluid, for example, you don’t just add water, as in a car battery.

Parking hazards. Forklifts are to be operated only by qualified personnel who have received the OSHA-required training. And they need to be parked in secure areas, and never with the keys left on board. Violation of this rule recently cost a 13-year-old his life when he took off in an unsecured truck at his father’s workplace and it overturned.

The Best Way to Train

Of course, the best way to train on how to operate a moving vehicle is with high quality video. This allows you to show safe (and unsafe) operation in motion. BLR’s Training Solutions Toolkit: Forklift Safety on DVD is about 20 minutes—it’s really a mini-motion picture, made to broadcast standards, complete with professional actors and a realistic script. It trains on all the above points and also includes all these supplementary materials:

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BLR’s Training Solutions Toolkit: Forklift Safety on DVD comes to you satisfaction assured! Click for details.

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• 15 copies of an employee workbook, and accompanying leader’s guide, that confirm and extends the learning. Additional copies may be ordered at special low prices.


• 3 posters. Hang them around your facility as a constant reminder of the training. (And note the pleased expression on any OSHA inspector who happens to see them.)


• Trainer’s log. Creates a permanent record of who you trained and when—another must-have if your facility is inspected.


• Customizable completion certificate. Just add each trainee’s name and other company specifics and print out.


• A complete bonus PowerPoint® forklift training program. This 30-slide PowerPoint, with accompanying slide show notes and takeaway booklets, allows you an alternative way to train, to customize your training with specific company policies and situations, and to add your comments as you present the material.





Training Solutions Toolkit: Forklift Safety is available for a no-cost, no-risk trial at your workplace. Click here and we’ll arrange it for you.