There are a variety of security features which are common to certain types of trucks including seat belts on sit-down vehicles. On the majority of stand-up vehicles there are dead-man petals also. In addition, certain manufacturers are offering more features like speed controls that are able to reduce the overall speed based on load height and steering angle. For more information, there are many available articles on Loading Dock Safety and Lift Truck Safety.
Support and Service
A big part of forklift selection is to make sure that you maintain access to high levels of service and support. Each year, there seems to be a wider variety of new players in the forklift business. Even if they offer a nice price and a decent lift truck design, if they do not provide the regional or local support and service infrastructure, you must be prepared for major stress when the forklift breaks. Each lift truck model goes down eventually and parts, service and general questions should be answered at some point.
You would normally want to have a nearby dealer or repair shop with a complete supply of the components you require for your specific model. Be certain to visit the dealership or the repair shop and check their parts room in order to try to know how many parts they store. Make sure to inquire that if they do not have the component you need, where would it come from? Hopefully, the answer will be from a regional or local distribution facility.
Furthermore, try to get some ideas as to how many of those specific models are currently being utilized within your vicinity. This is very vital for specialty trucks like turret trucks. If there are only a small amount of trucks in use in their service area that you should assume they might not be stocking many if any parts for them. Furthermore, they may have very little overall experience in servicing that specific model as well.