Posted By Jim-F we have a 5mph speed limit on site but a contractor has recently told us heavy duty fork lifts cant do 5mph without cutting out and damaging the engine, I find this astonishingly hard to believe, has anyone heard of this and where can i find info on it.

Posted By Eric Taylor He's talking nionsense. I'd love to see him pick up a pallet of bricks at more than 5 MPH. Ask him for a copy of the manufacturers hand book for the FLT. i am sure it will contain a Max-Min speed in each gear. If not, approach the manufacturer yourself for info. I would agree 5 mph is a bit low. provided the roadway is suitable, 10-15 seems more reasonable.

Posted By Alexander Falconer I had similar issues in a previous role, we had drivers constantly breaching safety rules by speeding (in warehouse type environment). I intended to put speed restrictors to engineer the risk out, Senior Management refused, so procedures reviewed, refresher training and disciplinary action was instilled to punish blatant offenders. The company thus was subjected to a high turnover of drivers (and no wonder!) Fast forward 18 months later, as a result of a non FLT related accident investigation, the HSE noted the travelling speeds of these drivers and issued a Improvement Notice. Senior management sat up and listened, yes sir three bags full! Speed restrictors were fitted & speed limits reduced to approx 8 mph, result much safer environment and improvement notice closed out. Was everyone happy, No - Employees moaned cos they couldn't do the job within the time restraints they wanted back to the original speeds, nor could they utilise the FLT hydraulics effectively (reduced speed = slower hydraulics) and Senior Management moaned cos the product wasn't getting out the door quick enough. Guess who gets it in the neck, and ordered to get back to original speeds Needless to say, I decided to move onwards (now in a FLT free zone). I would now say, FLT's - avoid em' like the plague, less hassle

Posted By Ian Mycroft Alexander Speed retarders are OK in some environments, But when you have passenger carrying vehicles vertical calming can cause injuries, especially when elderly people stand up before the vehicle has stopped. If we do use retarders we go for horizontal calming such as pinch points and chicanes (although these too can have problems). Another measure that we looking at are the electronic speed warning signs, similar to the ones used on highways, that flash up the vehicles speed.

Posted By Peter MacDonald Try driving an HGV at 5mph without feathering the clutch in first gear all the time. It's almost impossible to do. 5 mph is unrealistic for many vehicles and in most cases a speed dial doesn't show 5mph. If you segregate traffic and pedestrians 15 to 20 mph should suffice. Pete