FREE Forklift Safety Tip no: 13 Using A Forklift On A Roadway, Footpath Or Areas Open To The Public
If you or your staff have to operate a forklift in areas that are open to the public such as roadways and footpaths (generally, anywhere beyond your front driveway or the driveway of your complex) then there are two vital things that you should know!
To go on any roadway, the forklift used will either have to be road registered. (Like a car)
OR
The area will need to have barriers with appropriate safety signs, or alternatively a flag person present at all times.
If you need the forklift to drive on the road, be it from one location to another or simply across the street, it should be road registered.
For unloading trucks or vehicles on the road or footpath, the area should be barricaded and sign posted to warn people not to enter. A flag person is needed when ever the forklift will disrupt or interfere with traffic, or where the public can’t be kept out and pedestrian traffic has to be directed.
Taking a forklift into an area open to the public without these precautions in place will put you at risk of being fined for having an unregistered vehicle on the road (the same as having an unregistered car on the road). It can also play havoc with your insurance coverage when an accident occurs and leave you open to fines.
Companies who use forklifts in areas open to the public need to develop a traffic management plan to ensure you’re covered should an accident occur.
It’s up to you to assess how often the forklifts are used in public areas, how busy the areas are, what sort of traffic is interrupted, whether or not RTA or other approval is needed and develop a traffic plan to suit.
For any assistance or for more information regarding this matter, feel free to call our office on 1300 799 112 or email me nathan@ausforklifttraining.com.au