Seat Belts on Forklifts

OSHA requirements about seat belts is one of the most common questions pertaining to forklifts. OSHA has several basic obligations that explain its regulations and interpretations about seat belts on forklifts.

1. All forklift operators must use a seat belt if one is on the forklift. This basically includes ALL sit-down style forklifts. Stand-up style forklift will not have them.

2. All forklift which were originally equipped (from the factory) with seat belts, must still have them in good operating condition. If a sit-down style forklift did not come with a seat belt from the factory then employers are required to take advantage of "retrofit" programs to obtain and install a seat belt. Since all major manufacturers have a "retrofit" program, all sit-down forklifts are required to have an operational seat belt.

The basic conclusion is that all sit-down style forklifts should have a seat belt and all operators should be using them.

Click here for more information about forklift safety training.

Forklift Fatalities - part 7

This case was investigated by the NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program. This case report was selected it represented one of the most common types of fatal forklift incidents: (1) forklift overturns, (2) workers struck, crushed, or pinned by a forklift, and (3) falls from a forklift.

Case 7-Fall from Forklift

A 47-year-old male assistant warehouse manager was fatally injured while working with a forklift operator to pull tires from a storage rack. The two workers had placed a wooden pallet on the forks of the forklift, and the victim then stood on the pallet. The operator raised the forks and victim 16 feet above a concrete floor to the top of the storage rack. The victim had placed a few tires on the pallet when the operator noticed that the pallet was becoming unstable. The victim lost his balance and fell, striking his head on the floor.

Contributing factors to this accident may include (but are not limited to) lack of sufficient forklift safety training and operator error.

Forklift Fatalities - part 6

This case was investigated by the NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program. This case report was selected it represented one of the most common types of fatal forklift incidents: (1) forklift overturns, (2) workers struck, crushed, or pinned by a forklift, and (3) falls from a forklift.

Case 6-Fall from Forklift

A 61-year-old male maintenance manager of a shelter for the homeless died after falling 7 feet from a safety platform that had been elevated by a forklift. The victim had been raised in a steel-framed, cage-type safety platform that had not been secured to the forklift. The victim removed a fluorescent light bulb from its fixture and stepped to one side of the safety platform. When the victim shifted his weight from the center of the platform to the outer edge, the safety platform toppled off the forks. The victim fell about 7 feet, struck his head on a concrete floor, and was subsequently struck by the steel safety platform.

Contributing factors to this accident may include (but are not limited to) lack of sufficient forklift safety training and operator error.

Forklift Fatalities - part 5

This case was investigated by the NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program. This case report was selected it represented one of the most common types of fatal forklift incidents: (1) forklift overturns, (2) workers struck, crushed, or pinned by a forklift, and (3) falls from a forklift.

Case 5-Fall from Forklift

A 36-year-old male electric-line technician was fatally injured after falling from and being run over by a forklift. While the operator was driving the forklift, the victim was riding on the forks. As the operator approached an intersection, he slowed down and turned his head to check for oncoming traffic. When he turned his head back, he could not see the victim. He stopped the forklift, dismounted and found the victim underneath the right side of the forklift.

Contributing factors to this accident may include (but are not limited to) lack of sufficient forklift safety training and operator error.

Forklift Fatalities - part 4

This case was investigated by the NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program. This case report was selected it represented one of the most common types of fatal forklift incidents: (1) forklift overturns, (2) workers struck, crushed, or pinned by a forklift, and (3) falls from a forklift.

Case 4-Worker Struck by Forklift

A 39-year-old female punch press operator at a computer components manufacturer was fatally injured while performing normal work tasks at her station. A forklift was traveling in reverse at high speed toward the victim's work station. A witness observed the forklift strike a metal scrap bin (about 3 by 5 by 3½ feet), propelling it toward the punch press station. The bin hit the press and rebounded toward the forklift. There it was hit once again and shoved back against the corner of the press, striking and crushing the victim against the press.

Contributing factors to this accident may include (but are not limited to) lack of separation or barriers between pedestrians and forklifts, lack of sufficient forklift safety training and operator error.

Forklift Fatalities - part 3

This case was investigated by the NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program. This case report was selected it represented one of the most common types of fatal forklift incidents: (1) forklift overturns, (2) workers struck, crushed, or pinned by a forklift, and (3) falls from a forklift.

Case 3-Forklift Overturn

A 41-year-old male laborer was fatally injured when the sit-down type forklift he was operating fell off a loading dock and pinned him under the overhead guard. The forklift was not equipped with a seat belt. The loading dock had large cracks in the surface and was in need of extensive repair. It was raining when the victim left the storage building to lift a load from the back of a pickup truck. Evidence indicates that either the victim's forklift was too close to the outer edge of the loading dock (which crumbled) or the right front tire was caught in a large crack in the loading dock, causing the forklift to overturn.

Contributing factors to this accident may include (but are not limited to) deficient driving surface maintenance, lack of a seat belt, lack of sufficient forklift safety training and operator error.

Forklift Fatalities - part 2

This case was investigated by the NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program. This case report was selected it represented one of the most common types of fatal forklift incidents: (1) forklift overturns, (2) workers struck, crushed, or pinned by a forklift, and (3) falls from a forklift.

Case 2-Forklift Overturn

A 37-year-old shop foreman was fatally injured after the sit-down type forklift he was operating overturned. The victim was turning while backing down an incline with a 4% grade. The forklift was transporting a 3-foot-high, 150-pound stack of cardboard with the forks raised approximately 60 inches off the ground. No one witnessed the incident. The victim was found with his head pinned under the overhead guard. The forklift was not equipped with a seat belt.

Contributing factors to this accident may include (but are not limited to) lack of a seat belt, lack of sufficient forklift safety training and operator error.