Pedestrians & Site Safety

What is the most effective way to keep forklift trucks and pedestrians apart in a busy warehouse?

• ATell pedestrians to look out for trucks themselves
• BProvide physically segregated routes, barriers and clearly marked walkways for pedestrians✓
• CSwitch off the warehouse lights to slow everyone down
• DRely on operators sounding the horn continuously

Answer: The best control is physical segregation, using barriers, marked pedestrian walkways and separate doors so people and trucks do not share the same space. Horns and signage are useful but are lower-order controls than separating the traffic.

When approaching a blind corner or doorway, a forklift operator should:

• ASpeed up to clear the corner quickly so the truck spends less time in the blind area
• BRaise the forks and load high so that people on the far side of the corner can see them
• CSlow down, sound the horn and be ready to stop for pedestrians or other traffic✓
• DClose their eyes and rely on the horn

Answer: Blind corners and doorways hide pedestrians and other vehicles, so the operator must slow down, sound the horn to warn others and be ready to stop. Mirrors and good lighting also help reduce the risk at these points.

A pedestrian is standing in the truck's path and will not move. What should the operator do?

• AStop the truck and wait until the pedestrian is clear before proceeding✓
• BNudge the load gently against them to move them
• CCarry on at the same speed and assume the pedestrian will step aside in good time
• DDrive around them at speed

Answer: Pedestrians always have priority over the risk of being struck, so the operator must stop and wait until the area is clear before moving on. Forcing a way through or driving around at speed risks a serious or fatal collision.

Why must a forklift operator be especially careful when reversing on site?

• AThe forks come loose from the carriage whenever the truck is driven in reverse
• BReversing is never necessary on a well-planned site, so it is banned by regulation
• CReversing uses far more fuel and puts more wear on the transmission than driving forward
• DRear visibility is reduced and pedestrians behind the truck may not be seen✓

Answer: Reversing reduces the operator's view to the rear, where pedestrians can be hidden, making it a common cause of struck-by incidents. Operators should look in the direction of travel, use mirrors and reversing aids, and proceed slowly.

Why should pedestrians wear high-visibility clothing in lift truck operating areas?

• AIt identifies which pedestrians have been trained and authorised to work near lift trucks
• BIt is a legal requirement everywhere that any work equipment is in use
• CIt physically protects the wearer from injury if they are struck by a moving lift truck
• DIt helps an operator see them against a cluttered background, especially in poor light✓

Answer: High-visibility clothing helps the operator pick a person out from racking, pallets and shadow, and it buys the fraction of a second that matters. What it does not do is protect anyone — it is a conspicuity aid, not PPE against impact, and it sits well below segregation in the hierarchy. Treating it as protection is how people end up walking through traffic routes in a vest.

What is an exclusion zone used for around lift truck operations?

• AMarking out where lift trucks are permitted to park at the end of a working shift
• BKeeping people out of the area while loads are being stacked or de-stacked✓
• CShowing the maximum distance that a truck may travel while carrying a raised load
• DIdentifying the area in which the site speed limit does not apply

Answer: When a load is up at height there is a real chance of something falling, and an exclusion zone keeps people out from under it. It matters most during stacking, de-stacking and any work over a walkway or a work area. The zone needs marking and enforcing — a zone everyone walks through is a line on the floor, not a control.

Segregation is not reasonably practicable in one area. What is the next best approach?

• ATelling all operators to sound the horn continuously while they are in that area
• BMarked crossings, clear priority rules, warning devices and good visibility✓
• CBanning pedestrians from the site entirely during operating hours
• DRelying on the operators' training and experience alone to avoid hitting pedestrians

Answer: Where you genuinely cannot separate people and trucks, you manage the shared space deliberately: defined crossing points, rules on who gives way, mirrors and lighting at blind spots, warning devices, and enough width for both. That is a real system of work. Relying on individual care is the control that fails first, because it depends on everyone being alert every time.

May a pedestrian walk beneath raised forks or a raised load?

• AYes, as long as they move through quickly without stopping underneath
• BYes, provided the operator has seen them and acknowledged them
• CYes, if the load is light and is being held steady by the operator
• DNever — a dropped load or a hydraulic failure would be fatal✓

Answer: Nothing about hydraulics, chains or a load's stability is guaranteed enough to stand under. Loads slip, pallets fail and hydraulic hoses burst, and none of it gives warning. This applies to the operator too — never put any part of yourself under raised forks, and never reach through the mast.

How should visiting delivery drivers be managed on a site with lift truck operations?

• AAllowed to walk freely once they have been issued with a high-visibility vest
• BDirected to a designated safe waiting area away from the loading operation✓
• CAsked to help with the unloading so it is completed more quickly
• DLeft in their cab with the engine running until the load is complete

Answer: Delivery drivers do not know your site, your traffic routes or your rules, and they have a reason to get out and watch their load. A marked, safe waiting area away from the operation removes them from the risk. A vest does not make an unfamiliar person safe among moving trucks, and involving them in the unloading puts an untrained person into the work.

What role do mirrors and CCTV play in controlling pedestrian risk?

• AThey are only useful outdoors, where natural light makes them clearer
• BThey are the most effective control and can replace segregated walkways
• CThey are useful aids at blind spots but rank below physical segregation✓
• DThey remove the need for the operator to slow down at blind corners

Answer: Mirrors at blind corners and cameras on the truck genuinely help — but they depend on someone looking at the right moment and correctly judging what they see. Segregation does not. Aids sit below engineering controls in the hierarchy, and fitting them is not a reason to stop slowing down at corners or to leave a walkway unbarriered.

Why is adequate lighting important in lift truck operating areas?

• AIt is needed so that the CCTV cameras can record the whole of the operating area clearly
• BBright lighting keeps operators more alert during long night shifts and early starts
• COperators and pedestrians must be able to see each other and the floor condition✓
• DIt reduces the glare from high-visibility clothing worn by pedestrians

Answer: In poor light an operator loses pedestrians against the background, misses spillages and floor damage, and cannot judge a rack location properly. It matters most at the transitions — coming in from daylight into a dim warehouse, or out of a bright aisle into a shadowed one, where eyes take time to adjust and a person simply is not seen.

In a shared area, who has priority between a lift truck and a pedestrian?

• AWhoever arrives at the point of conflict first has right of way
• BThe lift truck, because it is heavier and takes longer to stop
• CThe pedestrian — the operator must give way and stop if necessary✓
• DThe lift truck, provided the operator has sounded the horn first

Answer: The truck can stop and the pedestrian cannot survive being hit, so priority goes to the person on foot. "I sounded the horn" is not a defence if you kept coming — the horn is a warning, not a claim on the space. Where site rules set out crossing priorities, they exist to make that predictable rather than to hand the truck right of way.