Scissor Lifts, Bendi, Combi, VNA etc... More...
Sign up now and receive a free Clark jacket
Forklift Trucks and Mobile Phones
When hiring a forklift truck the same rules and laws need to be followed just as if you owned the forklift truck yourself. For example the proper training needs to be given to the employee who is going to be operating the machine. The rules and laws attached to operating a forklift truck are very similar to that of any vehicle, vehicles we are more familiar with such as cars or motorbikes. For example you need insurance and tax if the forklift truck is to be driven on the roads; you need a license, and it is illegal to talk on your mobile phone while operating the fork lift truck.
Why is it illegal to talk or operate a mobile phone while driving the forklift truck? Just as with driving a normal car it is against the law to talk on the phone while operating a forklift truck. Talking on the phone or texting on a mobile phone whilst driving distracts us and breaks our concentration from the road and the environment that surrounds us which can cause accidents, this is the same if you are driving a fork lift truck, there is no difference. The use of a handheld device whilst driving a forklift truck on a public road is illegal, there is no set law stating that using a handheld device in a private site is illegal but it is a good idea for the employer to ban the use of hand held device while operating machinery to avoid injuries and accidents. There are specific and special devices that can be used to communicate whilst operating these machines which are a lot safer to use but still it can deter your concentration away from the task at hand which can be dangerous.
Sometimes it is required of some communication between two people, the person in the fork lift truck and a person on the ground, in which case working platforms are used.