Forklift Fatality

[Bird]

This story in our newspaper today isn't about a tractor, but is a forklift that turned over and the driver tried to jump off, which is the same mistake some have made on tractors:

Forklift fatality under investigation | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News

 

[JDgreen227]

This story in our newspaper today isn't about a tractor, but is a forklift that turned over and the driver tried to jump off, which is the same mistake some have made on tractors:

Forklift fatality under investigation | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Local News

Bird, I drove forklifts for twenty years, and have a hard time understanding how a forklift could overturn that way...the story makes it sound like the operator had no load on the forks when the lift truck overturned...and every one I have driven had such limited ground clearance that getting any wheel, either steering or stationary, in a pothole would do little except high center the machine.

Yet, it's a very sad story, more so when you consider the exemplary safety record the plant had before this.

 

[Baby Grand]

I drove a Hyster out of an open box car door. Take it from me - once they get one wheel in the air they are very tippy.

 

[flyerdan]

Yes, forks really don't like anything other than smooth and level very much. Mine is older and has the pneumatic tires all around so it does a bit better on gravel and lawn which is where I use it.
<------ The picture was taken when it was stuck in the lawn, at 9200 pounds it doesn't like the soft surfaces either. Pretty much a summer toy, and I'm always aware of how inherently tippy these things are, even on a good day.

 

[The Haymaker]

All forklifts have different stability characteristics. I've driven some you need to work to try and tip, even with a load. The Hyster 40s we use on our dock can be tipped just by turning the wheel too quick.

Simply fastening his belt would have saved this mans life. We had a dock worker a few years ago nearly kill himself. He was working the dock alone and had unseated, leaned forward to read a label on a pallet, and somehow maned to end up with his head in the mast. Nearly decapitated himself. someone in the office realized he was no longer working and went to check on him. No idea how long he had been pinned. He wasn't expected to live, but has, and will be a quadriplegic for the rest of his life.

 

[JDgreen227]

Yes, forks really don't like anything other than smooth and level very much. Mine is older and has the pneumatic tires all around so it does a bit better on gravel and lawn which is where I use it.
<------ The picture was taken when it was stuck in the lawn, at 9200 pounds it doesn't like the soft surfaces either. Pretty much a summer toy, and I'm always aware of how inherently tippy these things are, even on a good day.

Want to tell us just what you use a forklift for at home? I have never thought of them as being suitable for any homeowner application, only for commercial use. I guess you could actually use them at home as a form of cheapo hydraulic lift....

 

[RDrancher]

I got a call to look at repairing a parking / loading area for a Dallas trucking company last night. The call was directly related to this accident. The client said that the potholes have been an annoyance for a long time, but now they're worried about the safety of their forklift operators.

I just got back from looking at the repair. One of the potholes measured 16'x16' and was 8-10 inches deep!

 

[Willl]

Very sad.

I believe a seat belt would of saved a life in this instance.

 

[flyerdan]

There are lots of things they come in handy for around the house; having a hole in the fork tip lets you use a trailer ball or hook for moving trailers and lifting things out of the pickup. They're good for pulling unwanted saplings from where the squirrels have forgotten where they stashed their winter swag, and of course the mobile scaffolding applications. It was a surplus one at work and was going to auction, had some mechanical issues and I was able to buy it cheap. Might not be up to the rigors of daily use but it's more than adequate for my needs. And yes, the neighbors do think that I'm a bit odd.

 

[Mace Canute]

Several years ago now, a man who worked at one of our power generating stations was killed in exactly the same fashion. Beetle-ing along with a smaller forklift meant for use on a hard flat surface, preferably indoors, and dropped a wheel into a pothole. It was enough to cause it to go over past the point of no return and since he also wasn`t wearing a seatbelt, he fell out and ended up with his head between the FOPS and the ground. Killed instantly.

You might think a forklift meant for outdoor useage would be immune to potholes, and they are...until Murphy happens along. Again, several years ago now, at the RR yards here in Sutherland, the operator of the seacan lift (looked similar to this one)

was in the yard carrying a 40 foot container and was about to stack it on top three or four others.. He dropped a wheel into a pothole that he had to drive through in order to position the seacan properly and laid the unit on it`s side.

The seacan was loaded asymmetrically so most of the weight was at one end, the end on the same side the pothole was, and the sideways rocking was just enough to put it over. Impossible for the operator to know about and he was being slow and careful but physics and Murphy did it to him.

Did a lot of damage to the unit too, bent the mast out of shape so much it couldn`t be used. They had to resort to trying to use two cranes to pick up the seacans and move them that way. You can imagine how well that worked! They had to bring in a spare unit from Regina...a 160 mile trip and severly overweight for the roads at that time of year (the RR needed to really suck up to Dept of Highways to get a permit to move it) and it was also a High Load Move for the power corporation, which is where I was involved with it.

The operators had been complaining about the potholes and telling management that they needed to be fixed, but as is the case with most management, they `knew better`and did nothing about it...until it was proven that it was indeed a hazard. A costly hazard at that.