• 2 days ago
Tasmanian coroners are calling for further regulation of quad bikes in the state. Following the deaths of two teenagers last year, the number of deaths on farms in Australia has risen by 62 percent nationally this year compared to the last. But safety experts say further education, not more legislation, is the key to reducing deaths and injuries.

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00:00On this beef property in northern Tasmania, they've switched from quad bikes to side-by-side
00:07vehicles.
00:08They're a little safer.
00:10They do have similar challenges of a rollover risk, but we like the ability to put a seat
00:16belt on to mitigate against that, but it's really important that you still wear a helmet
00:20when you use them.
00:21As a farmer and Chair of Farm Safety Australia, Felicity Richards walks the safety talk.
00:27We need people to be making decisions that keep them safe when no one's watching, and
00:33when the pressure's on, when you're tired.
00:35Dairy farmer Paul Bennett phased out quad bikes 15 years ago.
00:40As the bikes have got more powerful, we believe they're inherently unsafe for our staff to
00:44be on.
00:45In Australia, incidents involving quad bikes, or ATVs, kill on average 15 people every year.
00:52They're the leading cause of accidental death and serious injury on Australian farms.
00:57They are dangerous if they're not used properly and people aren't trained in how to operate
01:01the things properly.
01:03During 2020 and 2021, a suite of safety reforms were introduced nationally, including mandatory
01:10roll bars on all new quad bikes.
01:12But the deaths of two teenagers in ATV accidents in Tasmania last year, one involving a quad
01:19bike and one a side-by-side, prompted two coroners to call for further regulation.
01:25They've repeated previous recommendations to introduce mandatory training and licensing
01:29for everyone, as well as age restrictions and passenger limits.
01:35Training and passenger restrictions are already compulsory in workplaces, but not for recreational
01:40riders on private property.
01:43Farming users aren't convinced more regulation is needed.
01:46I actually don't see how it can be enforced, because until there's an accident, and that's
01:51when enforcement comes in and the regulation will really hurt people, but it's too late
01:57then.
01:58People have to be proactive and make the workplace as safe as they can.
02:01Farm safety experts want to shift in attitudes.
02:04We want to be pushing the training side of things, so if you're a farmer and you've got
02:07a quad bike, make sure your people are trained, make sure they're wearing helmets.
02:11The government says it's unusual for it to intervene in the use of equipment on private
02:16land, and it does not intend to mandate training, licensing or passenger limits when quad bikes
02:22are used on private property.

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