Innovative design of lateral stabilizers for forklift trucks. Usage during partial lateral tip-over situations following the EN 16203 standard test code.

As part of a study (ref. EC2014-013) initiated in 2014, INRS decided to evaluate the effectiveness of stability gain systems available on forklift trucks or at an operational prototype stage. This assessment was carried out on the base of the standardized test code EN 16203. The conditions of these tests may lead to partial tip-over situations of the vehicle when cornering at high speeds. To secure the driver during these critical driving phases, stabilizers were designed by INRS. They have the particularity of being mounted and dismounted easily with tie-down ratchets and can therefore be quickly installed on variable geometries of vehicles. In addition, stabilizers were designed such that the mass and inertia of the truck on which they are mounted are slightly modified. Those stabilizers can be installed on forklifts with a load capacity between 1.6 and 2.5 tons with 3 or 4 wheels, meaning that forklift trucks have an empty weight between 3.3 and 5.3 tons.