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Hardly a week goes by without another report of a quad accident on a farm. And those are only the reported ones; never mind those in which the riders escape serious injury and nothing is ever said or done.
WorkSafe New Zealand has been setting standards for onfarm quad use and has run programmes to educate people – especially farmers – on the subject.
However, some of its standards, such as no passengers – especially children – are being openly questioned by farmer organisations, notably Beef + Lamb NZ (BLNZ). It insists WorkSafe doesn’t understand what life is like down on the farm and that quads in the right hands are safe.
There’s the nub of BLNZ’s argument: a quad in the right hands is safe. And maybe that is correct: experience does count, but sometimes it doesn’t.
Taking the bank manager or an investor out on the quad to see the farm is seemingly deemed necessary. Little mention is made about the availability or use of side-by-side farm vehicles.
Many of us on field days have seen quads used for farm tours and have witnessed, first-hand, poor safety practices and unnecessary risks. Good luck, rather than good management, averted accidents on those outings.
The move to outlaw passengers on quads conjures up visions of the ‘nanny state’ and Wellington bureaucrats running the ‘country’, as well as the city. There is little doubt that banning passengers from quads will put an end to BLNZ field days as we know them. So will an end to carrying passengers on the backs of the utes.
Is a way of life about to end, and will the horse also be deemed too dangerous?
On a less-dismal note, take a look over the fence at Landcorp Farming, going hard at safety programme on its farms. Landcorp has set a standard that should become the benchmark for all farms in the country, and its managers and staff are in full support.
OK, it doesn’t have to run field days. But if it’s good enough for Landcorp, why can’t BLNZ follow suit? Or is there a special case here that needs to be addressed?
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