I currently enforce safety belts on all of my forklifts.  I read the OSHA 1910.178 Regs and couldn't find any rule that states we have to do this.  My upper management asked why would we enforce something that isn't a rule or regulation.

IS THERE ANY ADVICE OUT THERE?????????

OXBO,

 See the link below. Basically, it states that you must follow the ASME statndard for forklifts (now the ANSI/ITSDF B56 standard) but also any instructions provided by the manufacturer. The manufacturer will likely say to use seatbelts. From a practical point of view, most of the forklift driver fatalities are from being ejected and then being hit by some part of the lift. The safest place in a forklift crash is in the cab.

MikeCJ 

http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=22587

Thank you sir.  I will present this to management and i'm sure they will understand the benifits behind wearing seatbelts all the time.

Thanks again

Jason