Forklift-pedestrian accident statistics show you how important it is to design a safe workplace for forklift operations and pedestrians.
The key point in the design is separation. Forklift and pedestrians shall have different traffic. It means that traffic control is the key.
In addition, as I wrote in my previous post, 10 Easy to Follow Forklift Safety Tips for Pedestrian, more intersections will also increase forklift-pedestrian accident probability.
In fact, finding out the number one cause of forklift accidents is not a simple task. Even if you have gathered many forklift accident data in your hand.
But, don’t be afraid. Based on forklift-pedestrian accident statistics that you can read below, there are two important facts you can see:
- Pedestrian hit by forklift has a high contribution to a forklift accident.
- Manufacturing and construction industries are the two fields where forklift fatality occurs at a high rate.
So, if you are in the construction and manufacturing fields, then you need to take extra caution since the following statistics show both fields have a high rate of forklift-pedestrian accident statistics.
Let’s see the statistics.
Forklift Pedestrian Accident Statistics
How many forklift accidents occur each year?
Read the following forklift pedestrian accident statistics to know the number. You will find that each country has its own statistics.
According to OSHA, there are 855,900 forklifts in the United States, where 11% of those numbers will be involved in an accident.
In each year, there are 85 forklift fatalities and 34,900 serious injuries. Of 85 fatalities, 10% come from struck or run over by a forklift.
In 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor reported that there were 8,140 non-fatal injuries associated with forklift operations in the US.
Manufacturing and construction are the two industrial sectors that contribute to more than 65% of the total forklift fatalities statistics.
In Great Britain, struck by moving vehicles is the number one cause of fatal injuries during 2016. The construction and manufacturing sectors contribute a total of 49% of the total fatalities. Unfortunately, it is still unclear about the forklift pedestrian accident in that number.
In Australia, between the years 2003 to 2015, there are a total of 61 forklift-related fatalities or 5 fatalities per year.
According to www.heftrucknederland.nl, about 1,700 forklift accidents occur every year in the Netherlands. From those numbers, 7 people died each year after involved in a forklift accident.
Meanwhile, the European Commission reported that in the period of 2001-2005, 1% of accidents that occurred in the European factories were caused by mobile handling devices.
Forklift Accident Case Studies [Report Included]
Besides the above forklift pedestrian accident statistics, there are many forklift accident case studies you can learn about forklift safety.
Here are five examples of forklift accident case studies:
- Accident-involving forklift: layout and visibility factors
- Forklift truck and severe injuries
- Workplace accident involving forklift operations.
- A forklift operator was caught between the mast and the head guard while trying to straighten a loose load
- Operator crushed by suddenly descending forklift container while trying to remove a piece of wood caught between the lift cylinders
