The Industrial Truck Association (ITA) estimates that there are nearly 856,000 forklifts in operation in the U.S. Annually, those vehicles are involved in more than 100,000 accidents—resulting in more than 94,000 injuries and 85 fatalities, according to the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). Of those fatalities, 42% occur when the forklift crushes the driver as he or she attempts to jump off the tipping vehicle.
Forklift tip overs occur in one of two ways: laterally (side-to-side) or longitudinally (front-to-back). Preventing tip overs is a key component of standardized forklift driver training and safety procedures. The ANSI / ITSDF B56.1-2012 Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks place the responsibility for maintaining a vehicle’s stability on the operator, with requirements as follows: