Home› Advice
Options

learning to drive a car v driving a fork lift

carlos_jacksoncarlos_jackson Posts: 168
Forum Member
✭
in Advice #1
I will soon be going on a course fork lift training, I can already drive a car, I would like opinions from those who have learned to drive both, which is more difficult to learn, fork lift or car, and does being able to drive a car make it easier to drive a fork lift?

Comments

  • Options
    newda898newda898 Posts: 5,466
    Forum Member
    ✭
    #2
    Surely a forklift is just two pedals with the added detail of rear wheel steering?
  • Options
    Compton_scatterCompton_scatter Posts: 2,711
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    #3
    Fork lifts are easy enough, slightly different to a car in that they tend to steer via the rear wheel/s so can spin around through 360 degrees pretty much on the spot, plus they don't tend to have more than 1 forward gears just forward and reverse with an accelerator and brake pedal. You also only use one hand to steer, they have one of those knobs on the wheel that invalid cars have.

    I suppose the fact you drive a car will give you an appreciation of steering etc but lots of FLT courses are only one day including the theory part whereas it can take many months to pass a car test. I did my first FLT course years ago (a week course through the company I was with at the time) and the instructor had me driving an 8 tonne truck at one point for a bit of practice, that was a big truck (weighed about 16 tonnes), it had air brakes like a lorry lol. Also did a skid steer loader (Bobcat) test the same week, those were trickier to master but good fun.
  • Options
    barbelerbarbeler Posts: 23,827
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    #4
    I remember, many years ago when working at Christian Salvesen as a student, I was told to take the fork truck to pick some pallets up from across the yard. I'd never driven either a car or a fork truck in my life.

    Anyway, I managed to work out how to make it go forward and then even managed to pick up a load of pallets, then started to drive back, peering through the gaps in the slats.

    I suddenly came to an abrupt halt as I bumped into the back of a parked lorry. I think you're supposed to drive them backwards.
  • Options
    SupratadSupratad Posts: 10,450
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    #5
    carlos_jackson wrote: »
    I will soon be going on a course fork lift training, I can already drive a car, I would like opinions from those who have learned to drive both, which is more difficult to learn, fork lift or car, and does being able to drive a car make it easier to drive a fork lift?

    I learned both at the same time, with one instructor.

    It was a two pronged approach.
  • Options
    gomezzgomezz Posts: 44,630
    Forum Member
    ✭
    #6
    FLT takes driving to a higher level.
  • Options
    Galaxy266Galaxy266 Posts: 7,049
    Forum Member
    ✭
    #7
    You certainly wouldn't be allowed to drive a fork-lift today without suitable training and passing a test at the end.

    A few of the staff here are trained to drive the fork-lift; I am not.

    You can use a fork-lift to pick up a car :D:D:D
  • Options
    John259John259 Posts: 28,481
    Forum Member
    ✭✭✭
    #8
    This video might interest or amuse you but I'm uncertain whether or not it will actually inform you very much. Uncle Sergei figures out how to move a forklift along his truck's trailer. For the first few minutes he explains why he has to do it, then he shows us the controls, then the action starts:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUwV3lPlbA4
  • Options
    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 63
    Forum Member
    ✭
    #9
    I learnt how to drive a forklift about a year before I started learning how to drive a car, and I think the knowledge driving a car gives you is a help in terms of judgement, awareness etc.

    I'm not sure which is more difficult to learn really, there are certainly a lot more things to learn when driving a car compared to a forklift (for example there's no gears on the forklift) but there are different things to consider when driving a forklift - rear wheel steering, watching your speed so you're not turning too fast, making sure you lift things correctly, not carrying anything too heavy for the capacity of the truck, only using one hand to steer and lifting/stacking things at height.

    Ultimately as long as you take your time and you are careful, then you should be fine. Best of luck!
Sign In or Register to comment.