Can Forklifts Operate on Public Roads?

[McAdalynn]

Forklifts with proper licenses are permitted to operate on public roads, but safety precautions must be observed due to their powerful engines. According to the relevant provisions of the Road Traffic Safety Law, wheeled vehicles engaged in specialized engineering operations are classified as motor vehicles. As motor vehicles, they must display license plates when operating on roads. Relevant information about forklifts is as follows: 1. Introduction: Loaders are widely used earth-moving machinery for construction projects such as highways, railways, buildings, hydropower stations, ports, and mines. 2. Functions: They are mainly used for shoveling and loading loose materials like soil, sand, limestone, and coal, and can also perform light excavation work on ores and hard soil. By equipping different auxiliary working devices, they can also be used for bulldozing, lifting, and handling other materials such as timber.

[StJack]

My family runs a machinery rental company, and we see all kinds of forklifts coming and going every day. Strictly speaking, these count as special equipment and really shouldn’t be driven on public roads casually. If you insist on driving one and get caught, it’s considered unlicensed driving. Once, our construction team was in a hurry to relocate, and a forklift driver secretly drove it on the road—only to get heavily fined. Now we always use trailers to transport forklifts; spending 200 yuan per trip on a flatbed truck is worth it. Remember, moving slowly over a short distance of a few hundred meters from one construction site to another might be okay, but if you encounter traffic police at an intersection, they’ll definitely stop you. If you really must move it, remember to get a temporary license and report it.

[DakotaDella]

A seasoned forklift operator with over a decade of experience tells you that this thing has a top speed of only 25 km/h, making it a moving roadblock on public roads. Look at its bucket—it's twice as wide as the cab, requiring three lanes just to make a U-turn on the road. Last month in the industrial zone, a forklift illegally driving on public roads forced a bus to slam on its brakes, injuring over a dozen passengers. If you really need to relocate it, hire specialized transport trailers with loading decks—it costs 300 yuan per hour but ensures safety. Here’s another unconventional trick: removing the bucket for separate transport reduces height, cutting towing fees by 30%.

[McMartin]

Last year, my cousin got fined for driving a forklift, and here's a heads-up for you: wheeled engineering vehicles without yellow reflective markings are not allowed on the road, as this falls under the category of modification. I checked Article 90 of the Road Traffic Law, which states that construction machinery passing through municipal roads must have an escort vehicle leading the way and reflective strips on the body. That time, the traffic police directly impounded the vehicle for 15 days and required two hours of traffic rules education on-site before releasing it. Later, when we bought engineering vehicles, we directly equipped them with police light racks—though it cost an extra 800 yuan, it saved a lot of trouble. If you really need to move it, it's better to rent a flatbed truck; now even Huolala can take orders to transport loaders.