There are actually a range of security features that are common to certain kinds of trucks like seat belts on sit-down vehicles. On the majority of stand-up vehicles there are dead-man petals also. Additionally, some manufacturers are offering extra features like speed controls which can decrease the overall speed based on load height and steering angle. For more info, there are many available articles on Lift Truck Safety and Loading Dock Safety.
Service and Support
A huge part of lift truck selection is to make certain that you maintain access to high levels of support and service. Every year, there seems to be a wider array of new players within the forklift business. Although they offer a decent lift truck design and a good price, if they do not provide the regional or local service and support infrastructure, you should be prepared for major aggravation when the forklift goes down. Each and every kind of lift truck goes down sooner or later and service, parts and general questions should be addressed at some point.
You would generally want to have a nearby dealer or repair shop with a complete supply of the components you need for your specific unit. Be certain to visit the repair shop or the dealership and check their parts room so as to try to know how many parts they store. Make certain to ask that if they do not have the component you require, where will it come from? With any luck, the answer will be from a local or regional distribution facility.
Furthermore, try to get some ideas as to how many of those particular models are currently being utilized in your area. This is really vital for specialty trucks including turret trucks. If there are only a small amount of trucks in use in their service area that you must assume they might not be stocking many if any parts for them. Also, they could have very little overall experience in servicing that model too.