Every year nearly 100 workers are killed and 20,000 are seriously injured in forklift mishaps (Bureau of Labor Statistics 1997, 1998). According to the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities (NTOF) Surveillance System, 1,530 workers died from forklift-related accidents between 1980 and 2001. The top four types of incidents causing these fatalities: forklift overturns, worker on foot struck by a forklift, victim crushed by a forklift and fall from a forklift.
This article outlines a few important aspects of forklift safety: operator training, equipment safety and workplace awareness.