Crazy forklift stories on Twitter: Lessons in forklift safety

What better way to learn lessons in forklift safety than to witness the mayhem caused by misguided forklift operators? Each year, dozens of forklift accidents occur throughout the United States, Canada, and all over the globe due to carelessness, unsafe work practices, inebriation, and pure stupidity. The stories are often entertaining, and at times downright funny. Here are a few crazy forklift stories we found on Twitter.

Get ready for this. In August 2011, two college students watched from a gas station as a forklift slowly drove down Interstate 30 in Fort Worth, Texas, tailed by five police cars. Driving the lift truck was an intoxicated, shirtless 43 year-old man, who was raising and lowering the forklift prongs while coasting down the highway. The man was "chugging a beer and threw it at the cop car behind him." He was eventually stopped by police. Turns out, the man had hijacked the forklift from a construction site. He was charged with theft, aggravated assault on a police officer, and driving while intoxicated.

...Well said.

This Tweet comes from a Twitter account dedicated to the jokes of comedian Mitch Hedberg, who passed away in 2005. Not so much a story or lesson to learn from it, but funny nonetheless.

This was by far one of the most costly accidents to result from a lack of forklift safety. In Adelaide, Australia, one forklift was responsible for the destruction of 5,544 bottles of $185 shiraz - worth over $1 million dollars - in a warehouse. The saddest part is that when the warehouse manager found out, he looked around for cameras to see if someone was pulling a prank on him. While workers combed through the wreckage, only one carton of 12 bottles escaped unscathed. Sometimes things like this can happen to precious goods... it's certainly not the first time a truck forklift catastrophe involving alcohol has occured. Excess loads can cause a forklift to be top-heavy and the load to become increasingly unstable as it’s lifted to heights that often exceed double or triple the height of the lift itself. Therefore, you should never load a truck beyond its rated capacity and ensure the load is completely secure, with the forks completely extended through the pallet, before moving.

What's less conspicuous than swerving down the road after having one too many Hefeweissens? Why, stealing a forklift and moving your car with it! In August 2011, a 27 year-old man in Germany got into a car accident while intoxicated. He was afraid that someone would call the police about the accident, so he took measures into his own hands. He hijacked a forklift and tried to move his Volkswagon. Lessons to be learned? Aside from the obvious (not operating a forklift while intoxicated), serious injury could have occured if the man had tried to lift his car with the small forklift. Forklift accidents are extremely common when the weight capacity of the truck is exceeded, because the forklift can fall over or drop the object while moving it.

In October 2011, a police helicopter caught this crazy scene in Nottinghamshire, England. A forklift recklessly tore through a small town and cemetery, damaging property, 100 year-old cemetery headstones, and running down wrought-iron a gate. Apparently, 34 year-old Steven Regan had stolen the forklift from a construction site in July 2011 as part of a scheme to steal cars. You'd think he'd have developed a more covert method of stealing cars such as, oh, I don't know, learning how to hotwire...

In the above referenced movie, Hereafter, Matt Damon drove a 5,000 lb capacity Yale forklift. The movie received a 6.7 on IMDb, but a 46% rating on Rotten Tomatoes for 'failing to generate much compelling drama.' I don't recall ever hearing about this movie, and apparently the DVD is $6 on Amazon.com if you feel like spending 2 hours watching a not-so-compelling drama.

The planking craze apparently caught on in one Australian warehouse - but two workers suffered the consequences. This is just extremely poor judgment (you could also call it "thinning the herd"). As the old adage goes: it’s only funny 'til someone loses an eye. Though seemingly secure, the hydraulics could fail, the lift could shift unexpectedly or, worse yet, tip over. And having a forklift land on top of you would definitely leave a mark.

Lesson from this forklift mishap: watch where you put those prongs! Forklift drivers have to be aware of their surroundings but even more so of the two steel lances they’ve got extending in front of the lift. A moment’s inattention can result in the puncture of costly goods... and create a huge mess on top of it.

Working in extreme conditions, including wet, sandy or otherwise slippery flooring can easily compromise the stability of the lift, resulting in a dangerous loss of traction. That's what happened with this particular incident. When working in these conditions, make sure to provide your driver with enhanced safety measures such as salted floors or a surface that will resist skidding.

And sometimes, a forklift can do the opposite of fail. The London Telegraph Tweeted the above picture of a forklift chariot transporting a young betrothed couple to their wedding in Xingtai, China. The couple first met in the exchange of a forklift -- the young man, a former forklift driver, met his wife while purchasing a forklift from her.