This National Forklift Safety Day there’s no better time to explore how to stay safe around forklifts and other materials handling equipment.
Lift trucks, including forklifts, are a common sight in logistics and warehousing. Operating on busy work sites – often around pedestrians – they represent a hazard that must be taken seriously to avoid the risk of potentially devastating accidents and injuries.
Forklift safety: The law
In the UK, the law on working with forklifts is covered by the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.
These say that lifting operations involving a lift truck should be:
- Properly planned by a competent person (usually the operator), who should have the appropriate training, knowledge and expertise
- Appropriately supervised
- Carried out in a safe manner using suitable equipment
In addition to these regulations, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 also apply.
These state that:
- Traffic routes should be organised to enable pedestrians and vehicles to circulate safely
- There should be sufficient lighting to allow people to work and move around safely
- Doors or gates on traffic routes should be fitted with a transparent viewing panel to give a clear view, when shut, of the space on either side
Forklifts and pedestrians
Pedestrians should be kept well away from areas where forklifts and other lift trucks are operating. Workplaces should have defined, designated and clearly marked pedestrian routes and crossing places.
The National Forklift Safety Day strapline is ‘a painted line isn’t enough’ and, wherever possible, a physical barrier should be installed to ensure robust segregation and avoid the risk of paths crossing.
The only people with access to forklift operating areas should be operators and their supervisors (where required), who must be equipped with adequate hi vis clothing and properly trained in the dangers of working around moving vehicles.
Special care should be taken at crossing places, with clear warning signs displayed and lift truck operators instructed to slow down, sound their horns and take extra precautions.
Further information on the safe use of forklift trucks may be found on the Health and Safety Executive website.
The cost of getting it wrong: Lisa’s story
“I never, ever would have said it was an unsafe place to work but, at the end of the day, it obviously was.”
David Garton
Lisa Ramos and her husband David were working for a logistics company in 2006 when Lisa was hit by a forklift truck. Lisa’s injuries were so severe, her left leg had to be amputated. Almost two decades on, the repercussions for Lisa and her family are still being felt.
Listen to Lisa and David’s story
Transforming incidents into insights
This National Forklift Safety Day, the UK Material Handling Association (UKMHA) has launched a new incident reporting portal to try to capture a true picture of the scale of forklift accidents nationally.
Open to everyone who works in the materials handling sector, it provides a simple, confidential way to share experiences and help improve safety across the industry. People can report anything from near misses and minor damage to serious accidents – although UKMHA has stressed that its portal is not a replacement for RIDDOR reporting.
Access the portal
About National Forklift Safety Day
Launched in the UK in 2019 and run by the UK Material Handling Association, National Forklift Safety Day takes place every year in June as an annual reminder to businesses of the importance of maintaining safety standards around materials handling equipment like forklifts.
More information can be found about the campaign, which runs all year long, on its website. You can also join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #NFSD2025.
Posted 15 May 2025
By Andrew Grinnell
