A reach truck is a narrow-aisle electric forklift whose mast or forks extend forward between stabilizing outrigger legs, allowing it to place and retrieve loads at height in aisles too narrow for a counterbalance truck.
Reach trucks belong to OSHA Class II, electric motor narrow aisle trucks, and are typically stand-up rider trucks in which the operator stands sideways to the direction of travel. The outriggers carry the load while it is retracted, so stability depends on retracting the load and lowering it to travel height before moving.
Specific hazards include traveling with the reach extended, an operator’s foot or arm outside the compartment, limited view when reversing, leg and foot crush injuries against racking or other trucks, and pedestrians in narrow aisles where there is no room to step aside. Rack damage from mast or fork contact is a further issue. Controls include keeping pedestrians out of reach truck aisles, height-dependent speed limiting on compatible trucks, and detection at aisle ends where trucks exit into cross aisles. See reach truck safety and forklift vs reach truck.