Pedestrian Safety, Traffic Management, and Site Awareness
This domain tests how operators share space with people: visibility, right-of-way, traffic patterns, and the behaviours that prevent struck-by and crush incidents.
Core rules
- Pedestrians have priority. Slow or stop for them; do not use the horn as a substitute for looking and yielding.
- Use designated walkways, barriers, mirrors, and one-way traffic flows. Keep to site speed limits and follow floor markings.
- At blind corners, doorways, rack ends, and busy crossings: stop, look both ways, sound the horn if the site permits, and proceed at a speed that allows a stop within the visible distance.
- Maintain a safe following distance from pedestrians and other trucks; never let anyone walk under raised forks or stand in the rear swing area.
- No riders. Passengers are not permitted on the truck, on the forks, or on pallets.
- Make eye contact where possible. A pedestrian who has seen you is safer, but eye contact does not transfer right-of-way.
Worked example
An operator approaches a warehouse intersection where racking blocks the view. A pedestrian is walking toward the same crossing, looking at a phone. The operator should stop before the corner, sound the horn, check both directions, and wait until the pedestrian has crossed or clearly acknowledged the truck. Edging forward while honking is unsafe: the rear swing of a counterbalanced truck can strike someone beside the aisle, and the pedestrian may not hear the horn over ambient noise.
Traps
Assuming a horn clears the path; overtaking another truck at an intersection; allowing a 'quick' rider; parking in a walkway or blocking a fire exit; cutting corners close to racking.