News in Brief

Don’t carry passengers
A witness reports unsafe operation of a forklift truck on the site of the airport extension on Thursday. A person was seen riding on a forklift and the driver was approached and advised not to carry passengers. The person riding on the forklift was seen to get off but later the same forklift was seen carrying a passenger on a pallet fitted to the forks.
Carrying passengers on a forklift truck is a highly dangerous practice and has resulted in serious accidents. Generally, forklifts are not designed for carrying passengers. Exceptions are where special provisions are made such as safety cages and seating.
Air man a no no
A concerned citizen has reported two employees behaving in an unsafe way on the job on Friday. They were involved in moving containers outside CITC Liquor Store. The containers had been placed there as a precaution against the cyclone. The containers were being moved by crane onto a truck. One worker was standing atop the container hooking the chains on then he was riding the raised container as it was being lifted and moved to the truck. After the container was on the truck the worker then hooked two chains together and rode these while the crane driver moved the chains to the next container to be lifted. At times he was an estimated 30 feet in the air. The concerned citizen said he spoke to both the crane driver and the other worker but said they ignored his advice. The worker on top of the container acted in an unsafe manner and the crane driver in allowing the worker to ride on the container and chains was condoning an unsafe act. If a serious accident had occurred, both employees would almost certainly be facing legal action by Police.