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Two fatal UK forklift incidents have prompted the Fork Lift Truck Association (FLTA) to urge employers to regularly monitor forklift operators.

FLTA chief executive David Ellison said the tragedies were a reminder that basic safety measures were imperative.

"Just a few careless moments can have fatal consequences," he said.

In both incidents, forklift operators had parked the vehicles but failed to fully apply the handbrake. The load had not been lowered to the ground and both trucks had been parked on a small slope. The forklifts rolled forward, crushing the operators to death.

Ellison said if the forks had been fully lowered, ground friction would have slowed or stopped the vehicles. If the forklifts had moved, the operators might have escaped with leg injuries and could have avoided being crushed at chest height.

Workplace transport is responsible for about a quarter of the UK's occupational health and safety fatalities. UK health & safety authority statistics recorded 70 fatalities in 2004/05.

"Managers and supervisors must recognise sloppy practice and take immediate action. Workplace transport is potentially a lethal weapon that can cause serious injury and even death," Ellison said.

The FLTA said forklift brakes should be tested daily and, when forklifts were stationary, they should be on level ground to avoid rolling. Forks should be lowered to the ground, the parking brake fully applied and the keys removed.

Details of the two incidents were confidential, a spokesperson for FLTA said.