Hazard Identification, Incident Response, and Accident Prevention
This domain tests hazard recognition and the first actions after an incident. The exam favours 'stop, secure, report' over improvised recovery.
Common hazards and controls
- Tip-over: excessive speed on turns, off-centre or raised loads, grades, soft shoulders, and floor edges.
- Falling loads: damaged pallets, unstable stacking, missing backrest, or forks not fully inserted.
- Struck-by/crush: pedestrians in blind spots, rear swing, trailer creep, dock edge collapse.
- Environmental: carbon monoxide from IC trucks, battery acid, hydrogen gas at charging, flammable liquids, poor lighting, wet floors.
- Overhead: rack beams, sprinklers, door tracks, power lines, especially with telehandlers.
Incident response
- Stop the truck, set the brake, lower the forks if safe, and isolate power.
- Check for injuries; call for help and first aid. Do not move a seriously injured person unless there is immediate danger.
- For a tip-over, stay in the seat, brace, and lean away from the direction of fall; do not jump.
- Contain spills with the correct kit, keep ignition sources away, and use the site emergency procedure.
- Report the incident, preserve the scene where practicable, and do not return the truck to service until inspected.
Worked example
A truck starts to tip sideways on a ramp. The operator's instinct may be to jump, but the safe response is to stay restrained in the seat, brace feet, hold the wheel, and lean away from the fall. Jumping exposes the operator to being crushed by the overhead guard. After the truck stops, the operator should isolate power, check for injury, and report; the truck must be inspected before reuse.
Traps
Jumping during tip-over; moving a truck after a collision before reporting; using the wrong extinguisher on a battery or electrical fire; re-entering a spill area without PPE.