The Yield to Pedestrian rule also applies to the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada as it's Occupational Safety General Regulations adopted the following standards without modification under Part 7 - Hoists and Mobile Equipment, Industrial Lift Trucks, Section 81: An employer shall ensure that an industrial lift truck (a) is designed, installed, erected, examined, inspected, operated and maintained in accordance with the applicable ASME standard listed below, where applicable,

(i) ASME B56.1-1993, "Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks", or

(ii) ASME B56.6-1992, "Safety Standard for Rough Terrain Forklift Trucks".

The Yield to Pedestrian rule also applies to the Province of British Columbia, Canada as it's Occupational Health and Safety Regulation has adopted the following standards without modification:

Part 16. Mobile Equipment, Rule 16.7, Standards: The design, fabrication, use, inspection and maintenance of mobile equipment must meet the requirements of the following applicable standard:

(d) Powered Industrial Trucks (low lift and high lift): ANSI Standard ASME B56.1-1993, Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks;

(e) Rough Terrain Forklifts: ANSI Standard ASME B56.6-1992, Safety Standard for Rough Terrain Forklift Trucks;

(j) Lift Truck Operator training: CSA Standard B335-94, Industrial Lift Truck Operator Training.

[Amended by B.C. Reg. 312/2003, effective October 29, 2003.]

Thanks Joseph,
Finally a definative solution to our quest! Hidden deep in the footnotes of a 496 page safety code, you have found our answer for us. Thank you Thank You!
I can be reached at alsloan at telus dot net
I would like to thank you personally

Al S:

There is a definitive answer to your question on "Yield to Pedestrian" for the Province of Alberta, Canada. The current October 2003 Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Code, Part 1, Definitions and General Application, (3), Adoption of Standards adopts without modification ASME B56.1-2000, Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks as part of the Alberta OHS Code. The Government of Alberta, Human Resources and Employment (AHRE) has determined by law that forklift operators will yield to pedestrians in the Province of Alberta, Canada.

The adoption of ASME B56.1- 2000, Safety Standards for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks as part of the Alberta OHS Code also imposes rather stringent forklift operator training and retraining requirements. Does the forklift operator training currently provided by your group, the Alberta Forklift Safety Council, meet the ASME B56.1- 2000, Safety Standards for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks forklift operator training requirements? What is the Alberta Forklift Safety Council? Is the Alberta Forklift Safety Council affiliated with the Alberta Safety Council?

ANSI/ITSDF B56 Standards. (Sorry!)

The ANSI/ITDSF Safety Standards B56.1 (low lift and high lift trucks); B56.6 (rough terrain forklifts); B-56.8 (personnel and burden carriers); B56.9 (operator controlled industrial tow tractors) and B-56.10 (manually propelled high lift trucks) are very explicit on right of way. Under TRAVELING sections the rule is the same: "Yield the right of way to pedestrians and emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks."

The national consensus standards used in your country probably have the same or a similar paragraph.
Although the government bodies that promulgate safety standards wimp out by not adopting the consensus standards as written, this does not mean that you as a safety person or a safety trainer should. Promulgated safety standards are merely minimal requirements. No safety program should be established on compliance with only the minimal legal requirements.

From a safety standpoint, this is not a debatable issue. All powered industrial truck operators must be instructed that they Yield to Pedestrians. Such operator response must become instinctive. I find any safety instruction that suggests there is an option reprehensible.

Yes Honden We are all responsible to each other.
We all have a DUTY OF CARE or OBLIGATION te ensure the safety of all persons in all workplaces regardless of what our positions are.
Unfortunaely no one has come up with a perfect legal system in any country so no one knows what to expect under the laws of each country.
The only protection we have under the law is to not place yourself in that position in the first place.
If one does not want to be fined, imprisoned. or be litigated against then one should be responsible for ones own safety as well as the pedestrians in our workplaces regardless of who has the right of way.
Insisting or taking "Right of Way" is a one way ticket to hospital,jail and or financial doom.
Go there at ones own peril.
Merry Xmas to all.

I see safety as a "numbers" business. Sooner or later the "untrained" pedestrian WILL do something stupid.

I have had a pedestrian actually mount my moving lift. After educating this pedestrian ( and others ) I have come to believe that few pedestrians realize just how much danger they could be placing themselves in by such actions.

Just an hour or two pedestrian education session would save the company money. ( lost time injuries, medical expenses, possibly even an insurance break )

Until the bean counters quit being penny wise-pound foolish we will continue to have half of the lift safety equation unfulfilled.

The best we can do at this point is to ensure the operator is sufficiently trained to recognize and avoid the worst of the situation. ( ie..what to do when the pedestrian has a brain fart )

Should it be up to the operators to educate their pedestrian co- workers?

Based upon my teaching, I insist that the forklift operators must look out for the pedestrians. In saying so, the pedestrians must respect the forklifts. I have been training for 7 years and I always offer pedestrian training to my clienys and never once di my clients take me up on it. Only the operators...we are not spending money to train the pedestrians. Go figure......

I agree with the above. Companies need to enforce correct training for both operators and staff who reside around FLTS, most safety policies for employees are brief about the dangers when working around FLTs and more attention should be made.

My statement remains the same, lift trucks must yield right-of-way to pedestrians.
I've been in this business for over 30 years and I couldn't agree more to every statement you make, but....they are all secondary to the primary rule.
Yes, pedestrians need to have site-specific orientation and they should be told to yield right-of-way to lift trucks; yes, there should be pedestrian no-go-zones; yes, there should be pedestrian walkways & lift truck "highways" where ever possible; yes, pedestrians should wear safety garments; yes, pedestrians should be told their do's & don'ts when walking/working around lift trucks; etc., etc., and....you & I both plus all the others could go on & on, but it does not change the foundation of lift truck training.
If there can be no agreement to the basic principle of lift truck training then I see no reason to continue this thread.

"I will end this thread again and again = LIFT TRUCKS MUST YIELD TO PEDESTRIANS"

and there exist situations in the real world where that is an impossibility. Have you ever loaded/unloaded railcars? Trucks? Have you ever had 10,000 lbs 30 feet in the air?

Would you as a pedestrian just walk right up to a lift performing any of these actions at any time without the drivers knowledge?

All situations and places are not equal. By the same token all pedestrians are ( by their actions ) not equal. The next time you have a few moments, pay closer attention to pedestrians that are ( or have been ) lift operators. Their actions around lift traffic may surprise you. ( but then again they may mirror your own. )

There exists a need for some pedestrian awareness education concerning lift traffic. Just as there are rules in the operation of lift trucks, There are some places that pedestrians do not belong and some things that pedestrians should never do.

An unequivocal "MUST ALWAYS..EVERYWHERE" is unworkable. Placing 100% of the responsibility (for safe interactions between lift traffic and pedestrians) upon the lift operator is irresponsible and represents a serious failure in a safety program with that demand.

A successful safety policy must recognize that the real world exists. It must be "workable" and I daresay "inflexible" 100% of the time.

If we are looking for simplification I would suggest there be "non pedestrian" areas such as the interior ( and surrounding immediate area ) of railcars/trucks being serviced and some warehouse/dock areas. Outside of those areas, I could agree with your statement.

There is NO oversimplification, lift truck operators MUST yield to pedestrians.
All the points you raise are very valuable, but secondary points to the question. They have no relevance to the very, very first rule in operating a lift truck.
If a lift truck operator hits a pedestrian there is a potential of being charged with, "failure to yield right-of-way to a pedestrian".
I'm sure inventoryops, myself and most others on this list could write a book on lift truck safety.
Why don't you start a new thread and ask for an itemized list for lift truck safety and I guarantee, it will be added to for many years and then, we can try to arrange all the points in a priority order, but..... I will end this thread again and again = LIFT TRUCKS MUST YIELD TO PEDESTRIANS.

I think if you look over all the posts to this discussion you'll see far more similarities than differences in the responses. The issue here is the oversimplification of the phrase "right of way" that implies only one participant has the requirement to take an action (yield to the other participant). In practice, this oversimplification can contribute to an unsafe operation.
Pedestrians need to be trained to do their best to stay out of the path of a lift truck, and lift truck operators need to be trained to slow down whenever pedestrians are near and yield if a pedestrian is in their path. So ultimately, you could say that lift truck operators must yield to pedestrians if the pedestrian does not yield to them first.
In addition, management needs to make a concerted effort to eliminate as much vehicle/pedestrian interaction as is practical. Proper facility design should try to keep pedestrians out of heavy lift truck traffic lanes and keep lift trucks out of pedestrian work areas. Proper supervision should prevent pedestrians from mindlessly roaming or standing around in lift truck traffic areas and monitor lift truck operators to make sure they are slowing down when operating in areas where pedestrians are present. I firmly believe that a lack of adequate supervision is the most significant factor in the majority of lift truck accidents. It doesn't matter how clearly you've defined "right of way" or how many "safety first" banners you have hanging in your facility; if your supervisors don't stop a lift truck operator when they observe him driving too fast, you don't have a safety program.

garry p
You are right on the right track & I am in agreement with you!
What every safety officer needs is a contact address where he or she can go to get correct advice on all aspects of forklift safety.
The cold hard facts are that the majority of safety officers have little or no knowledge on forklift matters.
One has only to read these columns to see that a lot of people are putting up their hand to offer bad advice & opinions.
It is time to establish an international safety consultancy to provide who ever with sound safety advice re. forklifts.
I have proposed such a body in these columns under the flag our host site but have had no takers.
Naturally it would have to be a structured organisation with the appropriate insurances.
Do you know a rich, caring & sympathetic benefactor?
We both agree on the need!

As safety professionals there needs to be an accepted start-off point that everyone is in agreement with and a basic acceptance of fact.
When in comes to lift trucks, the fact is a simple one: pedestrians have the right-of-way. To promote anything else could cause legal exposure if you are a consultant/trainer charging for your services.
If you are employed as a health and safety person and promote anything other than this fact, I do have to question your decision.
You can talk about all the other items; safety garments, travel speed, no-go zones - whatever. These are secondary to the fundamentals of lift truck use.
Based on some of the replies that I've seen on this and other postings, it concerns me that we can't have a short answer to a very specific question that everyone agrees on. It shows why lift truck accidents still happen in the numbers that we see!

1. What is this "right of way" and what is it's purpose?

I would submit that a "right of way" is simply "who goes first through a specific location whether it be an aisle, intersection or other spot where pedestrian meets machine."

Purpose: To ensure a safer workplace for all. ( Especially in those areas where it is of necessity for pedestrians and lift operators to interact and comingle )

There are really 3 basic areas we are discussing.

a) Warehouse and related docks. In this area I honestly beleive that the pedestrian should give up right of way as the lift traffic would by nature be loaded and moving. ( this is also the primary work area for most lift traffic ) There is by nature very little pedestrian traffic in this area.

I actually greet every pedestrian I see in the warehouse area with "How can I help you?" ( Once we see and acknowledge each other the risk of an accident drops dramatically ) again...there is very little pedestrian traffic in a typical warehouse. ( Home depot or Sams is far from typical )

b) Plant floors. This area tends to have far more pedestrian traffic ( this is their work area ) I beleive that it is the lift operator that should show extreme caution and low speed (and give up right of way) The lift operator has a pick up or delivery ( maybe both ) but speed in this area is not the way to go. ( I would submit that these Stores like Home Depot fall into this area )

c) common areas such as entrances to office areas, breakrooms, bathroom facilities..ect.

again..Pedestrians are in far greater numbers here and the lift operator should show considerable caution and give up right of way in these types of areas. The operator should also have the habit of engaging the parking brake and taking the key with him/her when they must leave their lift ( in a designated area of course ). The worste accident I have ever witnessed was a pedestrian getting on a lift that he had no business getting on. ( he was about to be late to clock in )

All of these "safety devices" are ok i guess...but in reality..Safety is a way of thinking. It's knowing when to drive and when to slow the $#@$@ down. ( speed is a great thing to use...in its appropriate area but it can KILL when used unwisely ) It's paying attention to your load, your lift, and your surroundings. It's taking "ownership" in your job and the area(s) in which you work.

Legislating or Engineering Safety will NEVER work. It is after all a human thing that machines will never understand.

just my.02

Well I have read your comments but have yet to see any positive reply.
Every where i have worked on customers site have made every posible effort to ensure employee saftey. This was done by seperating to pedestrion from the forklifts, ie walk ways marked out, barrieers put in place. The use of hi vis vests. If you think about the the question it would be the pedestrion who should give way because of the loads these machines can carry and it is more dangerous to use excessive braking which would make the machine unstable and unsafe. I am not saying that the operator should not drive around like king of the forklift as they to have a responsability of other people around them and their saftey.

Honden
I must admit to initially passing your contribution over to my mental junk box but later retrieved it for in-depth consideration.
You are of course correct!
When I paint a mental image of it, toss it around & look at it from a reverse perspective you are right on the money.
I think that our society (world wide) is focused on the bottom line. we should all consider the other persons view/perspective re safety at work.
The bottom line is important, without it we all would not have jobs.
Safety at work must never be compromised!
What is the value of the bottom line compared to a human life?
Thank god for each & every Safety officer in all parts of our world!

Most forklift operators look at pedestrians in a warehouse as obstacles. Its far better to give them ( pedestrians ) the right of way so that they leave the immediate area as quickly as possible.