I have had a customer that is a manufacturer, and a division of a fortune 500 corporation, with over 200 employees and over 60 forklifts in an air-conditioned enclosed plant.
They have an over _16_ -year- safety record without _ANY_ accidents involving forklifts. Their standard says they travel, when unladen, with the fork -tips- 6 to 9 inches off the floor, tilted forward. I taught operator safety for them, and was told I was incorrect to insist on them travelling with the forks tilted up, and with that kind of safety record, I don't see how anyone could insist they do anything different.
Their 6 year old forklifts, when traded in, look like new forklifts that have sat in the corner they have so little scratched paint.
I do recognize that in a lot of operations they would have had injuries and damage from people driving with the forks not tilted back, but their methods of employee satisfaction are not the same as in those locations, and everyone in their plant intends to be long term employees and shows genuine concern for their fellow employees.
I am also aware of major trucking companies who for a very long time insisted on travel unladen with the forks tiled down, as their logic was that they would be less likely to have a problem with pedestrian impacts. as far as I know, those trucking companies have changed to match the "industry standard" of tilted back travel always.
one size may not fit all,,, after all.
I would also ask Jonah who claims " It is far easier to repair a damaged shin/leg bone than it is to repair a damaged ankle/tendons/Achilles heel", if he is making assumptions, or does he actually have independently verifiable statistics to back up his claim, and/or is he a orthopaedic surgeon?