This is why I always try to stand well away from a working forklift. Poor chap
RIP, Drive.
But, how was the verdict accidental death? It was totally avoidable by not rushing and attempting an unsafe lift.
Must of been a dreadful time for the family
rip
1.overloaded forklift.
- stay well clear of a moving forklift.
Accident yes it was ,but avoidable with a bit of safety awareness.
I’d delivered there a couple of weeks prior and nobody could understand how it happened at first because its a good tip with loads of space and good ground. Nobody knows why the forkie decided to try and lift off two pallets of worktops because everyone knew they could only lift one and its not as if you’re in a rush on that run and to this day nobody knows why Richard was where he was. He used to do nights and as I remember this was his first week on days doing store deliveries but he’d been driving for years.
As it says in the article there was already a “keep the hell out of the way” zone you were told about during your induction. Can only assume that because he’d been on nights for ages he’d forgotten about that. They’ve since doubled the size and now require one of the store management to act as a watcher as well. The only way its possible to have an accident with a forklift and a person is if both parties are ignoring the system put in place.
Incidents like this remind me of similar accidents I’ve witnessed. The 1st was at the old CO-OP depot at cutler heights Bradford where a drive stepped in to pull the curtain just as the forkie (unaware of the drivers presence) reversed back and turned crushing the driver against the wagon smashing his leg/hip.
The 2nd was similar to the OP where a 1T pallet of flour was being unloaded by tiny under capacity forklift at a bakery in Retford, which usually involved 2 guys stood on the back of the counterweight to stop it tipping over while the forkie lifted and lowered it to the floor. The forkie was a bit too sharpish reversing resulting in the fork truck tipping over launching the 2 guys off the back, luckily only egos where hurt at the time.
Because it’s accidental what will happen now? Could the forklift driver get done? will Howdens get done? Will his partner be able to put a claim in?
Very tragic event! 
As for it being accidental, I’m surprised that the forklift driver hasn’t been singled out as being negligent, as they was trying to lift well above the capacity of their forklift. So I’m struggling to see how this is hugely different from the driver that didn’t secure the support leg of their Hi-Ab and killed someone. The forkie has been trained to use their equipment and has a licence to say so, so why are they less culpable than a driver?
Thats what i getting at, how if your lifting 42% more than forklift is capable of how can it be accidental?
Evil8Beezle:
Very tragic event!As for it being accidental, I’m surprised that the forklift driver hasn’t been singled out as being negligent, as they was trying to lift well above the capacity of their forklift. So I’m struggling to see how this is hugely different from the driver that didn’t secure the support leg of their Hi-Ab and killed someone. The forkie has been trained to use their equipment and has a licence to say so, so why are they less culpable than a driver?
mac12:
Thats what i getting at, how if your lifting 42% more than forklift is capable of how can it be accidental?
A tragic incident. Condolences to his family.
42% overload on a trailer will give you about a 9.6ton excess, so a gross wt of about 54 tonnes. I reckon a big penalty would be given to both the operator and the driver, even if no accident occurred, with that sort of overload on a road vehicle. Accident? As in “unintentional”, yes. As in “unavoidable”, no.
Franglais:
Evil8Beezle:
Very tragic event!As for it being accidental, I’m surprised that the forklift driver hasn’t been singled out as being negligent, as they was trying to lift well above the capacity of their forklift. So I’m struggling to see how this is hugely different from the driver that didn’t secure the support leg of their Hi-Ab and killed someone. The forkie has been trained to use their equipment and has a licence to say so, so why are they less culpable than a driver?
mac12:
Thats what i getting at, how if your lifting 42% more than forklift is capable of how can it be accidental?A tragic incident. Condolences to his family.
42% overload on a trailer will give you about a 9.6ton excess, so a gross wt of about 54 tonnes. I reckon a big penalty would be given to both the operator and the driver, even if no accident occurred, with that sort of overload on a road vehicle. Accident? As in “unintentional”, yes. As in “unavoidable”, no.
The overload was on the forklift
The worst thing about this case was the agency texting the drivers partner mentioning the tragic circumstances before she was even told about his death.
Driver-Once-More:
Franglais:
Evil8Beezle:
Very tragic event!As for it being accidental, I’m surprised that the forklift driver hasn’t been singled out as being negligent, as they was trying to lift well above the capacity of their forklift. So I’m struggling to see how this is hugely different from the driver that didn’t secure the support leg of their Hi-Ab and killed someone. The forkie has been trained to use their equipment and has a licence to say so, so why are they less culpable than a driver?
mac12:
Thats what i getting at, how if your lifting 42% more than forklift is capable of how can it be accidental?A tragic incident. Condolences to his family.
42% overload on a trailer will give you about a 9.6ton excess, so a gross wt of about 54 tonnes. I reckon a big penalty would be given to both the operator and the driver, even if no accident occurred, with that sort of overload on a road vehicle. Accident? As in “unintentional”, yes. As in “unavoidable”, no.The overload was on the forklift
Yes, I was comparing what would probably happen to a road vehicle overload, with what is/isn`t happening to a forklift overload!
mac12:
Because it’s accidental what will happen now? Could the forklift driver get done? will Howdens get done? Will his partner be able to put a claim in?
Howdens already had a system in place where you weren’t allowed within 2 metres of the forklift truck, that has now been extended to a 4 metre by length of unloading area from the truck with the area coned off. The forklift trucks even have a notice on the side of them saying to stay 2m away. The forklift driver was supposed to stop all activity if anyone got within that. Both parties failed to follow the procedures they’d been instructed in for unloading.
Insurance will have already paid out I expect.
Wheel Nut:
The worst thing about this case was the agency texting the drivers partner mentioning the tragic circumstances before she was even told about his death.
I don’t have any love of agencies at all but that is a bit unfair. It is not what the article nor the poor driver’s partner says.
Dan ze Man:
1.overloaded forklift.
- stay well clear of a moving forklift.
Accident yes it was ,but avoidable with a bit of safety awareness.
We mostly all move and unload heavy stuff all day long despite knowing all the dangers it’s easy to get blase and just move the curtain or grab a strap without realising you’re putting yourself in a danger zone.
cav551:
Wheel Nut:
The worst thing about this case was the agency texting the drivers partner mentioning the tragic circumstances before she was even told about his death.I don’t have any love of agencies at all but that is a bit unfair. It is not what the article nor the poor driver’s partner says.
+1
I’m certainly not averse to some agency bashing but it doesn’t sound justified in this case.
Edit: Looks like I did myself in the original thread at the time. 
mac12:
Thats what i getting at, how if your lifting 42% more than forklift is capable of how can it be accidental?
To be fair, having done quite a bit of forklift driving the main way of identifying it was overloaded was the forklift not lifting it. What you tend to do, and I suspect may have happened in this case, is you can get heavy pallets up, that won’t lift with a straight up lift, by tilting the mast back. What you’d then do is reverse clear of the truck bed and drop it down ■■■■ quick. You did of course know really doing that you were sort of tricking the machine into operating past its safe limits.
Couldn’t help noticing in the article, Howdens H&S manager, David Attenborough??