FACTS

1. Forklifts are impressive work equipment, weighing three times more than the average car.
2. Forklift accidents are the most common type of heavy equipment accidents in American workplaces.
3. Forklifts are steered by their back wheels. When the forklift turns on its rear wheels, its rear engine compartment moves with it.
4. Tipping occurs when forklift is overloaded, when driven up or down a steep incline, or operated recklessly.
5. Most forklifts are equipped with overhead guards, or “masts,” to protect the driver from falling objects. If a forklift begins to tip over and the driver tries to jump off, the masts can trap and crush the driver between the forklift and the floor.
6. Improperly maintained forklifts can break down in the middle of operation. Sudden, unanticipated stops can cause inventory to dislodge and fall on coworkers or bystanders.

STATS

• More than 1,000,000 forklifts are in operation throughout the United States
• Forklift accidents cost businesses $135,000,000 every year.
• Roughly 70% of all accidents could have been avoided with proper training.
• OSHA estimates there are 110,000 forklift accidents every year.
• Roughly 20,000 workers are injured every year in forklift-related accidents.
• Forklift-related citations are routinely among OSHA’s top 10 violations each year:
• Overturned forklifts are the leading cause of deaths involving forklifts; account for 22% of all forklift-related fatalities.
• Workers on foot struck by forklifts account for 20% of all forklift-related fatalities.
• Victims crushed by forklifts account for 16% of all fatalities and falls from forklifts account for 9% of all forklift fatalities.
• Forklifts account for around 85 deaths every year.
• Forklifts accidents that result in serious injury total 34.900 annually.
• Non-serious injuries related to forklifts accidents reach 61.800 each year.
• A forklift overturning is the most common incident, accounting for 24%vof all forklift accidents.
• If companies implemented more stringent training policies, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that about 70% of forklift accidents in the US could be prevented.
• Forklifts account for only 1% of all warehouse or factory accidents. But the accidents tend to be more serious than others, accounting for 10% of al physical injuries in those workplaces.