this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
796 points (99.4% liked)
Science Memes
16281 readers
2621 users here now
Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!
A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.
Rules
- Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
- Keep it rooted (on topic).
- No spam.
- Infographics welcome, get schooled.
This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.
Research Committee
Other Mander Communities
Science and Research
Biology and Life Sciences
- !abiogenesis@mander.xyz
- !animal-behavior@mander.xyz
- !anthropology@mander.xyz
- !arachnology@mander.xyz
- !balconygardening@slrpnk.net
- !biodiversity@mander.xyz
- !biology@mander.xyz
- !biophysics@mander.xyz
- !botany@mander.xyz
- !ecology@mander.xyz
- !entomology@mander.xyz
- !fermentation@mander.xyz
- !herpetology@mander.xyz
- !houseplants@mander.xyz
- !medicine@mander.xyz
- !microscopy@mander.xyz
- !mycology@mander.xyz
- !nudibranchs@mander.xyz
- !nutrition@mander.xyz
- !palaeoecology@mander.xyz
- !palaeontology@mander.xyz
- !photosynthesis@mander.xyz
- !plantid@mander.xyz
- !plants@mander.xyz
- !reptiles and amphibians@mander.xyz
Physical Sciences
- !astronomy@mander.xyz
- !chemistry@mander.xyz
- !earthscience@mander.xyz
- !geography@mander.xyz
- !geospatial@mander.xyz
- !nuclear@mander.xyz
- !physics@mander.xyz
- !quantum-computing@mander.xyz
- !spectroscopy@mander.xyz
Humanities and Social Sciences
Practical and Applied Sciences
- !exercise-and sports-science@mander.xyz
- !gardening@mander.xyz
- !self sufficiency@mander.xyz
- !soilscience@slrpnk.net
- !terrariums@mander.xyz
- !timelapse@mander.xyz
Memes
Miscellaneous
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I work around forklifts.
No.
By virtue of there being a lot more of them cars are killing more people, but forklifts are far more dangerous, relatively.
There are about 35000 forklift injuries every year in the US, 90 or so are fatal. Of roughly 800,000 forklifts in operation that gives you roughly a 4% chance for serious injury from any given forklift per year. This does not include non injury accidents which, conservatively, happen at least 10 times as frequently. That would be things like dropping a load or damaging a safety barricade.
Motor vehicle crashes, and this includes everything from minor fender benders to fatalities, are around 6 million a year. Out of 285 million cars on the road that's about a 2% chance per vehicle.
Forklifts aren't capable of anything quickly. Less so under load. Loads are frequently unsecured or poorly secured. Unlike a car, they're not only interacting with the road, they're interacting with shelving, pallets of shit, conveyors, and the people around them, and the people driving them are just as likely to be drunk or stoned as anyone on the road is.
Of the 6 forklift incidents I've seen in the last 5 years, 2 involved a driver who was able to pass a drug test after.
1 was an injury, that individual lost her leg below the knee. The rest were all loads being flung in new and exciting ways, in one case throwing the operator forward out of the lift. (Standing lift). In all other cases that no one was injured was purely luck that no one happened to be nearby when it happened. Our facility is on the good end of the bell curve for forklift incidents. They're much more common in other facilities.
Well damn, I had no idea they caused that many problems, thanks for the reply
Thank you for representing the knowledge. During forklift training the instructor was very deliberate about teaching us that the forklift is half the size and three times the weight of a car. It has the torque to rip out limbs at idle speeds. It does not care about keeping the loads level - that's our job.
I wish there was footage of a head on collision between a forklift and a car because then folks can see the reality of what a forklift is able to do and the industrial levels of abuse they sustain. The car will be absolutely crumpled. There are no crumple zones on a forklift. There is only the weight and structural framework for lifting a car over its head while remaining balanced the entire time.
These are great, I tried to contribute by found only trash, sorry
In case you haven't seen what these are from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJYOkZz6Dck
Sounds like a fun base rates problem, much like when you say airplanes are much safer than cars, etc. I wonder how it breaks down by vehicle, though; 2% might be cars as a whole, but trucks vs suvs vs sedans change that up and trucks, having the highest rate of dui and accident rate (after accounting for urban density) you end up with maybe a comparable 4% rate with forklifts.
None the less, respect the forklift. They may do as many injuries per capita as an F150 but at a fraction of the speed! And in new and exciting ways!
Not to undermine your point about forklifts being more dangerous than cars (no idea personally, I don’t have any firsthand experience, only horror stories I’ve read on the internet), but I wonder if accidents/injuries per vehicle per year is the best measurement of danger considering I would assume most cars are only driven for about an hour per day, but I would assume forklifts are operated for about 8-12 hours per day.
still less risk to the general public