Watch Out, Vodka !

3 November 2009

Cases of vodka and cognac go flying when a forklift backs at speed into an four-tier rack in Moscow.

The alcohol element and dramatic footage have sent this story viral although news outlets speculate more on the cost of the lost alcohol than the fate of the driver. 

In the video posted to the internet at the start of November (Scandalim, 2009), two gas-powered lifts are operating when one driver appears to lose control. Smoke puffs as he seems to mistake the accelerator for the brake and smashes backwards into a lefthand rack which could be about 9 metres high. In seconds the rack is down, burying him in boxes and bent metal, and toppling the righthand rack as well. Six boilersuit-clad figures come to his rescue.

Minimal bracing

In discussion on Boing Boing [http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/02/careless-forklift-dr.html]

onetime certified forklift driver ‘Freddie Freelance’ (Ca. & Il. certified on gas & electric counterbalance fork and clamp trucks, straddle reach trucks, "man up" trucks, pallet jacks, and pick tuggers) says the racks appear to have minimal cross bracing—“maybe enough for empty bottles, but definitely not enough if they were expected to hold pallet loads of full glass bottles”.

He says the crashed fork looks like a gas or diesel counterbalance truck that shouldn't work inside.

“Those gas trucks need to have the engine revved to raise or lower the forks, and they have a clutch in the brake to allow you to do that: you push the brake all the way down to engage the clutch, hit the gas, and pull on the lift lever to take the forks off the ground; this guy started the fork, put it into reverse to back up, forgot to press the brake to engage the clutch, and hit the gas hard to raise the forks quickly, which made him shoot back quickly, which knocked out the support leg of the racking, and the rest is obvious.” .

‘Freddie’ calls this video as comedy according to the classic equation "tragedy plus distance equals comedy".

Media speculation

Those speculating on the value of lost alcohol put it between NZD$100,000 and NZD$350,000. They also report that the driver escaped with a slight leg injury while as many as 300,000 had viewed it on Youtube within a couple of days. Hopefully, it is a safety alert.

© Eastwood Tyres 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7__JABPSIw