Powered Industrial Trucks (PITs) and Vehicle Safety
Introduction
Powered industrial trucks (PITs), commonly called forklifts or lift trucks, are used in many industries, primarily to move materials.
They can also be used to raise, lower, or remove large objects or a number of smaller objects on pallets or in boxes, crates, or other containers. Powered industrial trucks can either be ridden by the operator or controlled by a walking operator.
This definition does not include any machinery that moves earth or functions for over-the road haulage. This also does not include any machinery that has been modified to accept forks.
Hazards
Approximately 100 employees are fatally injured and approximately 95,000 employees are injured every year while operating powered industrial trucks.
Forklift turn-over accident accounts for the most significant number of these fatalities.
There are many types of powered industrial trucks. Each type presents different operating hazards.
For example, a sit-down, counterbalanced high-lift rider truck is more likely than a motorized hand truck to be involved in a falling load accident because the sit-down rider truck can lift a load much higher than a hand truck.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
7-1. What type of accidents are responsible for the most significant number of forklift fatalities?
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