A forklift blind spot is any area around the truck that the seated or standing driver cannot see directly, created by the mast, overhead guard posts, the counterweight, the load or the building.
Every forklift has built-in blind spots: behind the counterweight when reversing, beside the mast, and in front when a tall load blocks the forward view. The site adds more, such as rack ends, intersections, doorways and dock plates. OSHA 1910.178 requires drivers to look in the direction of travel, to slow down and sound the horn at cross aisles and other places where vision is obstructed, and to travel with the load trailing when it blocks the forward view.
Blind spots are reduced in layers: layout first (separate walkways, removing obstructions at corners), then visibility aids (mirrors, cameras, lights), then detection systems that sense people the driver cannot see. Mirrors and cameras still depend on the driver looking at the right moment. Detection systems add a warning but have blind spots of their own: tags miss untagged people and cameras miss what is out of line of sight. The forklift blind spots guide maps where they occur and what reduces each one.