Was at a regular collection in Peterborough today (as in we get about 20 trailers a day regular) and was chopsing with a colleague when I heard an almighty scream/shout, to the point where I stopped talking and looked around. Not much evidence of anything so I chalked it down to someone messing about.
Anyway a few minutes later two ambulances, two for a engines and a paramedic responder turn up closely followed by the air ambulance which landed in the yard.
Long.and short is some poor sod got crushed by a forklift. Not heard anything about condition but assuming it’s not going to be great.
Just goes to show really that within split seconds that could be it for any of us.
Never driven a forklift but I’m guessing they can be dangerous pieces of gear. . . Once went to a place to load a few pallets of whatever and the forkie was a middle age chap. anyway. Before he got to loading me, a couple of the young guns there must have thought it funny to try and play a prank on the forkie by turning off the gas to it so when the guy came driving down to my truck and the thing cut out, I’m guessing the gas must power the breaks too as he was standing on the break to try and stop which he managed to after a fairly long distance. . . He got out and he was screaming at these chaps who now didn’t find their prank funny. I’m surprised they never got gired on the spot!
I was run over by a forklift. He was loading a trailer and as he drove towards it I walked behind him. I wasn’t all that close and there was no reason for him to reverse, but reverse he did without looking, knocked me down and ran over my leg, which now has a titanium rod in it.
Before you decide that I was to blame; H&S investigated and concluded that it was his fault. Of course, I was wearing my high viz vest of invulnerability at the time and it let me down badly.
Forklifts are perceived as slow - but they are heavy and should be treated with respect : i drove them years ago and have seen a few crush injuries, lost digits and a fatality
Toddy2:
Forklifts are perceived as slow - but they are heavy and should be treated with respect : i drove them years ago and have seen a few crush injuries, lost digits and a fatality
They’re not always slow; some of the gas powered ones can do a good 30mph. I remember working in a warehouse many years ago and people were driving the forklifts around like maniacs. (I wasn’t safely up in an XF cab, I was expected to walk around the yard.) It was terrifying.
They are exceptionally dangerous machines, a bit like trucks. One wrong move or someone walks in the wrong place and they wont even notice you as they crush. Used a moffet once and it did its best to kill me, never mind anyone else.
Our places are supposed to have 3 metre rules whereby you don’t go within that distance, but its hard practically when you need to get loaded and out.
There are some places where we have to stand in a designated area while loading, and having seen a minority of idiots just wander around nearly getting hit, I’m really not surprised.
Hope whoever got hit recovers and it gets properly investigated rather than just it was automatically the forklift driver fault which seems to be the usual authority response. Really do need eyes in the back of your head with driving those, and less idiots walking around them.
IndigoJo - wasnt a pallet company who’s name begins with G was it? I know one where they pride themselves on skidding round corners between trucks and owners watch! Nutty.
Forktrucks, especially counterbalance ones - have a large amount of lead in them either as ballast weights or the batteries doubling up as counter weights.
This means a typical fork truck, even an indoor perceived “small” one - weighs over double the average 4x4 off-roader.
I wouldn’t be walking behind my neighbor’s tank when she’s backing it into place - so we all need to be careful when walking about, as OP suggests "The High viz - won’t even protect you from being stung by a vespid!
In my previous life I was a forklift driver.
And I used to hate drivers who stand right next to you while your loading them . There chatting away and following you around like there lost . I don’t mind them.chatting etc but seriously hated the ones who follow you back n forth chatting rubbish .
Sometimes think I should renew my licence and go back for driving.
More sociable hours know what time you start and finish .pay isn’t far off what get now opportunities to do overtime and more prospects to go into management supervisor roles.
I remember an incident at the old CO-OP depot at cutler Heights in Bradford. Despite being told to sit in his cab an old guy instead of opening the curtain fully, he partially opened his curtain and insisted on holding it open as far as it would go without opening another buckle so the forkie could get the last pallet off, problem was when the forklift pulled the pallet off the forkie decided to turn and crushed the driver up against the truck and smashed his pelvis
I was sat in my cab one night in a shed at Palletways…
looking in my mirrors I could see 2 forklifts reversing round the rear corners of my trailer …
they couldn’t see each other though, until the last moment…
By 'eck , they don’t half make a bang.
A place I tip at everyday has a rule that if the driver gets out of the cab when he should’nt, forkie calls up on the radio ‘forks down’, and every forklift in the yard comes to a stop.
Winseer:
Forktrucks, especially counterbalance ones - have a large amount of lead in them either as ballast weights or the batteries doubling up as counter weights.
This means a typical fork truck, even an indoor perceived “small” one - weighs over double the average 4x4 off-roader.
I wouldn’t be walking behind my neighbor’s tank when she’s backing it into place - so we all need to be careful when walking about, as OP suggests "The High viz - won’t even protect you from being stung by a vespid!
These Bendi/flexi trucks weigh an incredible amount about 8 ton a piece nearly as much as a tractor unit.
Scraggy88:
Never driven a forklift but I’m guessing they can be dangerous pieces of gear. . . Once went to a place to load a few pallets of whatever and the forkie was a middle age chap. anyway. Before he got to loading me, a couple of the young guns there must have thought it funny to try and play a prank on the forkie by turning off the gas to it so when the guy came driving down to my truck and the thing cut out, I’m guessing the gas must power the breaks too as he was standing on the break to try and stop which he managed to after a fairly long distance. . . He got out and he was screaming at these chaps who now didn’t find their prank funny. I’m surprised they never got gired on the spot!
The brakes are often in poor condition or not that great to start with as most drivers will use the direction change lever to slow down most if not all the time so with no engine going he won’t have had that.
trevHCS:
IndigoJo - wasnt a pallet company who’s name begins with G was it? I know one where they pride themselves on skidding round corners between trucks and owners watch! Nutty.
I honestly can’t remember; it was so long ago, well before I started driving class 1s or 2s. I’ve seen crazy forklift drivers in the pallet hubs more recently but there are no pedestrians there.
