Test themes
Site traffic: the rules for forklift and plant operators
The questions come from the R482 “moving machines on site and on the road” theme. The rules also apply to a forklift in a warehouse or a yard.
Independent site, not linked to the French Health Insurance (Assurance Maladie), the INRS, testing bodies or training centres.
Your score · R482 · construction machinery
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Questions written by Radif Partners from the French Health Insurance recommendations. This is not the official test, which is sat at a certified testing body and is in French. Your answers stay in this browser.
Driving a handling or construction machine means sharing space with pedestrians, lorries and other machines, often with visibility reduced by the load or the structure. R482 gives traffic a whole theme in the theory test: 12 points out of 100, with a minimum of 6, spread across signs, guiding signals, travelling with a load, safe distances, overtaking and public roads. In R489, traffic sits inside the operation theme: driving indoors and outdoors, braking distance and striking people add up to 13 points there. The core rules are the same everywhere: follow the site traffic plan, match speed to the ground and the load, keep the load low, reverse when it blocks the view, never carry a passenger where no seat is provided, and announce yourself at junctions. The stopping distance calculator further down works out the figure from your own inputs, which shows how fast it grows with speed.
How many points per theme in the R482 test?
Points in the test
44 / 100
| Minimum to score | 22 points |
| Syllabus points | 18 |
| Heaviest | Striking people when manoeuvring or reversing (4) |
Questions, explanations and calculations by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The basic rules
| Situation | Good practice | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Junction, door, blind spot | Slow down, sound the horn, look | Going through because “nobody is coming” |
| Load blocking the view | Reverse or get guided | Driving forwards leaning out to the side |
| Slope when laden | Load on the uphill side, no turning | Driving forwards downhill, forks first |
| Wet or oily floor | Lower the speed, brake early | Keeping the usual pace |
| Approaching a dock | Check the vehicle and the dock plate | Entering the trailer without checks |
| Someone asks for a lift | Refuse: no passenger without a seat provided | Agreeing “just for a metre” |
The traffic plan (plan de circulation) is the reference document: it sets directions, speeds, pedestrian zones and crossing points. Drivers receive it on arrival, and R482 expects them to use it. In warehouses, floor markings often separate walkways from machine routes; on building sites, temporary signs on a yellow background override the usual ones.
What R482 assesses on traffic
| Syllabus point | Points |
|---|---|
| Signs and signals | 2 |
| Hand signals for guiding machines | 2 |
| Travelling with a load | 2 |
| Safety distances | 2 |
| Overtaking rules | 2 |
| Driving on public roads | 2 |
Six syllabus points of equal weight. Signs include those of the French Highway Code: series A for hazards, series B for prohibitions and obligations, junction lights and priority signs, floor markings. Guiding signals (gestes de commandement) are the conventional hand signs a banksman uses to stop, advance, reverse or lift; R490 also tests them for loader cranes. Workplace safety pictograms are covered on the signs and pictograms page.
Stopping in time
Stopping distance has two parts: the distance covered during your reaction time, which grows with speed, and the braking distance, which grows with the square of speed. A slippery floor, a downhill slope, worn tyres or a heavy load make it longer; tiredness, alcohol or a phone make reaction time longer. The two R489 syllabus points on braking, worth 2 and 2 points, deal with exactly these factors.
How far do I travel before stopping?
Stopping distance
7.0 m
| While reacting | 3.3 m |
| While braking | 3.7 m |
Double the speed and the braking distance is four times longer.
Low load, slow bends
Traffic and stability go together: many overturns happen on the move, in a bend taken too fast or with the load raised. The forklift stability page explains why. The current references are the R482 recommendation, the R489 recommendation and, for workplace signs, the order of 4 November 1993. As the test is in French, learn marche arrière (reverse), piéton (pedestrian) and plan de circulation (traffic plan).