When many people hear the word “heavy machinery,” they think about construction equipment, but are cars considered heavy machines too? One thing many notes is that on many medicines the warning will mention no operating heavy machinery where cars are included.
One thing to note is that, in fact, cars can be just as dangerous and expensive for you if you don’t take care of them properly, so are cars considered heavy machinery? In this blog post, we will discuss how to treat your car like a piece of heavy machinery so that it lasts longer and helps keep your family safe on the road!
What Makes Something “Heavy Machinery”?
When you start to talk about heavy machinery or equipment what is the difference between it an normal machinery and what is considered as heavy equipment or machinery?
Heavy machinery is any equipment or machine that has a special training requirement for those who are operating it, which includes cars. Cars can be considered heavy machinery because they require special instruction to operate them and the average person doesn’t have the skills required to use these machines properly without experienced supervision.
Heavy machinery includes tractors, trucks, buses, forklifts and other industrial vehicles which need specialized knowledge in order to function safely. If you don’t have the proper training or experience, you cannot safely use these machines.
Additionally, heavy machinery is typically used for industrial purposes while regular machinery can be found in a home garage and does not require any special knowledge to operate it.
What is Classified as Heavy Machinery?
Heavy machinery basically comes down to any vehicle or equipment that requires a lot more knowledge and experience than your average person has in order to operate it.
For example, bulldozers are considered heavy machinery because they require special instruction to operate them and the average person doesn’t have the skills required to use these machines properly without experienced supervision.
Heavy machinery includes tractors, trucks, buses, forklifts and other industrial vehicles which need specialized knowledge in order to function safely. If you don’t have the proper training or experience, you cannot safely use these machines.
A tractor is a good example of heavy machinery because it’s used in construction, farming and logging industries to help move large objects across land or into water. It has an engine that needs fuel so you also need access to gas stations for these types of machines as well.
Cars are considered heavy machinery in relation to medication due to the fact that they are big and operate around other people and sobriety being a key to safety of you and others.
While when you are on some medication your skills can be impaired too much to drive while maintaining the focus and skill to operate.
What weight is considered heavy equipment?
Typically once a piece of machinery weighs 5,000 pounds or more it is considered heavy equipment. Heavy machinery includes things such as cranes, forklifts and bulldozers.
Since these types of machines are designed for construction purposes they can lift a lot heavier weight than what one person could do on their own. This helps to keep the process an efficient time-saving measure in order to complete projects quicker.
Many cars can weigh around 5000 pounds but the average car weighs in around 4000 pounds which would make them classified as light vehicles rather than heavy machinery since they don’t quite meet the criteria needed for this classification.
Operating Cars and Heavy Equipment on Medicines
There are some needs for operating heavy machinery on medicines. For example, the operators of construction equipment should be careful to not take certain medications that can cause drowsiness and impair their ability to operate the equipment.
Does Do not operate heavy machinery mean cars?
On many medications you will see the warning that it is not advisable to drive or operate heavy machinery. So yes, driving and operating cars can be considered as operating heavy machinery under these circumstances.
This is due to the fact that your judgement and skills may be impaired and you could cause serious damage to yourself as well.
Final Call: Are Cars Considered Heavy Machinery
Whether cars are considered heavy machinery is a debate that has been going on for years, but the answer is clear. Cars are not classified as heavy machinery as long as they aren’t over the 5,000 pound limit.
They do however share some characteristics with them and can be used in certain circumstances to replace machines like tractors or bulldozers. A car doesn’t require fuel oil which means no emissions into the air and fewer resources needed to manufacture it so you might say there’s less impact than industrial equipment such as tractors.
Heavy machinery is a broad term that can be applied to many different types of machines. To some, heavy equipment might include construction tools such as bulldozers and cranes while others may see it including cars like trucks or SUVs.
What do you think, am I right or wrong? Let me know your thoughts below!
