Patent ID: 7938220

Claim:
A material handling vehicle, comprising: an operator compartment; a first operator control handle for selecting a direction and a speed of vehicle travel, the first control handle being mounted in the operator compartment and configured for operation in a first vehicle direction; a second operator control handle for selecting a direction and a speed of vehicle travel, the second operator control handle mounted in the compartment and configured for operation in a second vehicle direction; a deadman switch in a position accessible by an operator operating the vehicle using at least one of the first control handle and the second control handle, the deadman switch being selectively activatable to enable operation from both the first operator control handle and the second operator control handle; and a traction system controlled by the first and second operator control handles to selectively drive the vehicle in the first vehicle direction and the second vehicle direction, wherein an operator can control the traction system while facing one of the first vehicle direction and the second vehicle direction.