An operating apparatus for electrically driven vehicle, for example a fork lift truck, of the type that has an electric motor connected to a DC source via a chopper circuit. The apparatus includes a relay for supplying DC power to said motor, a switching element for operating the relay and a transistorized detector circuit pararelly connected to said switching element which sense the normal operation of the chopper circuit, and makes the switching element non-conductive in the event of malfunctioning. Further, the apparatus includes a chopper control circuit for controlling the chopper circuit effectively and a overcurrent detector circuit for control chopper current by detecting the overcurrent.