24.02.2010
Human counterweight
A reader driving into an industrial estate in Liverpool last week came across a strange site that certainly qualifies as one of our crazier Death Wishes.
He said that the forklift was reversing down a ramp from a factory building into the street with its rear wheels some 600mm off the ground, coming to a halt in front of our reader’s car.
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A group of men are recruited to force the rear wheels back to the ground
A group of men from the plant climbed onto the back of the fork truck in order to boost its counterweight and force the rear wheels back onto the ground so that it could regain its ability to steer.
The extra weight did put the rear wheels back on the ground, although only just and the whole crew were so absorbed that they never noticed our man sitting his car waiting for them to complete their manouvres so that he could pass by. He says they were treating the entire this as a highly amusing factory outing.
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Now time to load it onto the trailer
With some control regained the fork truck, along with its human cargo, carried its load up the ramp of a waiting low loader, while the truck driver looks on wiht bemusement.
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Up the ramp they go
Our reader said that one of the men on board appeared to be a manger given his collar and tie uniform – one hopes that this is not a regular activity and wonders what the risk assessment looked like for this job?
Warren Howard
Laughing is not what the HSE would have been doing had all this gone horribly wrong! I too am sat here wondering how many similar things like this go on around the country without one of Vertikals readers coming across it and sending in the photos.
Good website by the way.
David Cross
i must admit i am sitting here laughing