If you don't know how to drive or if you are afraid of opening up the hood of your car so you can tinker with the engine, you are in the right place. I started this blog because I don't want anyone to miss out on the fun of maintaining and driving their own auto. I am not a professional and I don't work in the automotive industry. However, for the past 10 years, I have been repairing and driving cars as I have travelled around Australia. I hope that the words I have written here will inspire you to get involved with your car.
If you like varied work behind the wheel, where you have a degree of responsibility and every day can be different, then you may be cut out for a career as a forklift truck driver. You may certainly have seen these machines in action and believe that you could be a good pilot, but as you may expect, there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. What are some factors to take into consideration before you apply for this type of job?
Training Required
Of course, you won't be able to get a job at a reputable facility unless you have the appropriate amount of training from a recognised facility. When you sign up to such a course, you will certainly learn about how to manoeuvre the forklift, but you will also learn how much is involved before you even get into the cab. You will, after all, need to go through an inspection routine to determine if the machine is fit for purpose and go through the equivalent of a "pre-flight" check before you start it up.
Different Position
You will quickly learn that certain skills are required behind this type of steering wheel, and although your car driving experience can always stand you in good stead, you will need to approach this in a different way.
Visibility
First and foremost, you must make sure that you have good visibility all around you before you commit to any action and must bring in other people to help you, if your visibility is otherwise blocked.
Attention
When you're driving, always look in the direction that you're going, and this is particularly important when you reverse. Some people may take a cursory glance over their shoulder before selecting reverse and then turn their head back towards the front to look at the load. While you may get away with this many times, it can be very dangerous should other people be in the general vicinity.
Caution
Above all else, drive the machine slowly and especially when you are going into or out of buildings. Each truck is equipped with a loud horn which should be used whenever visibility could be partially obstructed, or when you come to an intersection of some kind.
There's a lot to learn before you get behind the wheel of a forklift truck. Make sure that you sign up for forklift operator licence classes and pay as much attention as possible, so you can start your new career in the near future.