She told Rural News that quad bikes are inherently dangerous vehicles and there are challenges in getting people to use them safely. Her comments come following a spate of quad bike accidents both on farm and recreationally over the Christmas holiday period.
“Over summer there are longer daylight hours and a lot of work done on farms. There is often the temptation to work longer hours and fatigue and stress all play a part in accidents. Things such as forgetting to check the quad bike or making a simple mistake because they are really tired that can have long term consequences,” she says.
De Rooy says MIBE is involved in a number of initiatives to improve farmers attitude to quad bike safety and there are some encouraging signs that farmers are starting to understand the risk and comply with safety steps. She says the ministry is working with stakeholder groups to try and influence farmers to be more safety conscious. One of the areas of concern is the use of safety helmets.
“There are a lot of excuses for not wearing a helmet, but your life can change in a second. That’s the tragic impact of poor decisions and yes there is a strong culture of ‘it’s not going to happen to me’,” she says.
Federated Farmers Jeanette Maxwell says her organisation is doing much to promote the safe use of quad bikes on farm by encouraging farmers to draw up health and safety plans. She says many farmers have been using quad bikes for a very long time and know how to ride them. Maxwell acknowledges that accidents can occur in a split second, but says farmers have mixed views on helmet use.
“Current quad bike helmets are heavy and sit quite high – especially when you have wet weather gear on. Often you have to choose between having wet neck or back and wearing a helmet that doesn’t fit underneath a wet weather jacket,” she adds.
Ona de Rooy says in addition to its education programmes, MIBE’s health and safety inspectors are out on a road ensuring that farmers comply with the rules.
“Between July 2011 and December 2012, we issued a total of 653 notices or warnings.
“These were improvement notices and warning letters. If we re-visit a property and find that the workplace is still non-compliant then we would shift to an infringement process. This could mean a fine of between $100 and $3000 depending on the nature of the breach,” she says.
