6) Accident experience indicates certain items which need particular attention:
• Load stability is crucial and should be checked before traveling.
• Wide loads have tilted and caused fatal accidents. Ensure that loads cannot tip sideways.
• Access ways must be checked to see that they are wider than any load which may be carried along them. Load should normally be carried closed to the ground but, if they have to be raised to clear obstructions, they must be lowered when the way is clear. The operator should be assisted by a banksmen
• The weight of timber and other porous material should be lifted with the mast vertical or slightly tilted back.
• Traveling on slope, or in poor ground conditions, may be critical and the machine manufacturer’s recommendations should be followed.
• There are reversing hazards with forklifts, as with other transport. Audible warning alarms are a useful aid, but their effectiveness can be limited by general background noise and by operators relying on them, instead of carrying out a visual check before reversing. The need for a banksman should always be considered.