We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Pete Zahut"
saying something like:

In other words, it seems that they are training you for a career in
using elevating platforms and looking towards future employment, which is
obviously no good for someone who wants to hire it for a day while his mate
goes and does some work on the gutters. Have I got this right? Is there
really no way Joe Public can just hire one for a day?

And Joe Numpty causes a fatality? [1]
Do you really fancy being sued into the ground and losing your house for
the legal bills and compensation?
I'd suggest, do the course, or if it costs a lot, hire a bod with a
ticket for the day. With the collapse of the construction industry,
you'll find someone fairly easily to do a day for cash. The hire centre
will likely put you in touch with someone suitable.

[1] As an example: Years ago, I did a fork truck training course (as
part of my job, fixing the damn things) and it surprised me how much I
didn't know. It's dead easy to kill some poor sap with a fork truck,
imagine how easy it might be with a cherry picker.