1. Your country name : United States of America.

2. Does your country have laws and regulations regarding safe lift truck operation? Yes.

3. What is the name/number of the law or reg? 29 CFR 1910.178, et. al.

4. Does your country mandate the use of a seat belt for lift truck operators? Yes.

5. Does your country require licensing of LT operators. (e.g. You go to a gov't office to obtain it. No, but consistent with OSHA's intentions, I encourage employers to consider VOLUNTARY Licensing of operators.

6. IF NO for number 5. Does your country require training and qualification of lift truck operators? Yes, it requires training, evaluation and certification.

7. Is recertification required at some frequency? Yes, every three (3) years in the USA, and also occasioned by a change in work environment, any unsafe driving action by an operator, class of truck, incident related to a lift truck, and others that are specified in the rule, above.

8. Does your country require testing for LT operators?
a. Medical testing (fit for duty): No, not specifically for lift truck operators of 3PLs. Med testing is often a "voluntary" human resources hiring policy for the purpose of screening all employees hired at larger companies, Such medical testing carries with it a responsibility to abide by non-OSHA rules such as those from EEO, OFCCP, et.al.

b. Drug/alcohol testing: NO. This is also a VOLUNTARY policy and normal hiring practice at many companies in the USA and carries with it the same added responsibilities, as above.


In my opinion, medical and drug testing of forklift truck operators who are already on the job can be counter-productive, and often fails to solve the real problem of forklift fatality of the tip over kind (or any other type of forklift-related injury or callateral damage).

If you are going to test operators, I recommend rigorous ON-TRUCK testing; ensuring that the test is designed with content validity, has established inter-rater reliability, and is specific to the make & model as well as the specific tasks required on-the-job. Of course, such a testing practice requires some related training for experienced operators, is expensive to design and implement, and assures that operators are now able to keep themselves and others out of harm's way. Finally, it is important that the local management practices, as well as workplace engineering practices, encourage, rather than discourage, safe forklift operator actions.

Best wishes,

Joe Monaco
National LIFT Truck Operator Registry (LIFTOR)
jmonaco AT LIFTOR DOT com