Seat belts matter

Nine out of ten people in the United States wear a seatbelt; according to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts saved 14,955 lives in 2017 alone. However, while the value of seat belts in passenger vehicles has become widely accepted, their use in other types of vehicles, like forklifts, is not as common and in some countries is not mandatory by law.

When we think about the dangers of forklifts, we often think about how dangerous they are to pedestrians and property, but not the danger they present to drivers. However, according to the CDC, forklifts tipping over and landing on their operators are one of the leading causes of forklift-related fatalities. 

Forklifts tip over for many reasons, from traveling too fast, unbalanced loads, overextended past their center of gravity, or uneven surfaces. During an equipment tip-over, a natural reaction of many people is to try to jump out of and clear the forklift. 

Unfortunately, this misguided attempt to avoid injury is the worst thing the operator could do and has resulted in countless preventable workplace tragedies. That's because operators often cannot jump quickly or far away from the falling equipment and end up being crushed instead. 

OSHA's position on seatbelt use in forklifts

OSHA makes seatbelt use in forklifts mandatory for operators. A seat belt helps to keep an operator safely inside the forklift, which has structural components around the operator designed to protect them in the instance of a tip-over. In the case of an accident, operators should wear their seatbelts, lean away from the impact, and grab the steering wheel to brace themselves. 

Operators and the companies they work for are equally responsible for ensuring seat belt use during the operation of forklifts. Therefore, companies that want to avoid regulatory violations must take operator seatbelt use seriously and ensure compliance. 

However, pushback from employees is common when attempting to achieve regulatory compliance. One argument often put forward by forklift drivers is that they can't wear seat belts because of the need to enter and exit the cab frequently to check on their load status. 

In the eyes of OSHA however,  this is not a valid excuse. Operators are expected to buckle and unbuckle themselves every time they enter and exit the forklift. Regulatory bodies like OSHA are not concerned with any perceived inconvenience their regulations may cause; their concern is protecting worker safety

SEEN Safety

There are many tragic stories of workers fatally killed in equipment accidents that seatbelts may have prevented. The recommendation for forklift operators to wear seatbelts is universal. Safety and Health professionals and regulators globally agree that encouraging the use of seat belts saves lives.

SEEN safety is on a mission to prevent tragedies like these and help people get home safely to the ones they love every day. 

Your pedestrian employees working near forklifts deserve to feel safe at work too. SEEN’s forklift pedestrian sensors have reliably helped prevent accidents and injury caused by forklifts all over the globe. SEEN safety can help you create a safer workplace. See for yourself. Contact SEEN today.