Any new OHS guidelines from regulators important to read and consider when implementing safety interventions. New Zealand’s Department of Labour (DoL) has released new guidelines for the use of quad bikes in workplaces, predominantly, farms. Quad bike manufacturers are strong advocates of “active riding” techniques as an important safety practice. The new guidelines support … Continue reading “NZ releases new guidelines on quad bike safety”
An opinion piece was published in the New Zealand Herald on 12 January 2011 concerning quad bikes. There are several points raised by Donald Aubrey, vice-president of Federated Farmers and chairman of the Agricultural Health and Safety Council that can be disputed. “In the hands of the untrained or the over-confident they can be deadly. And … Continue reading “NZ Farmers rep enters quad bike safety debate”
One of New Zealand’s coroners, Ian Smith, has set a safety challenge to the OHS regulatory and quad bike distributors. In the coronial findings (not available online) into the 2008 death of 21-year-old beekeeper, Jody Santos, Coroner Smith has recommended to the Ministers for Transport and Labour: “The Court endorses the new educational and enforcement programme being proposed by … Continue reading “NZ Coroner presses for changes in quad bike safety”
SafetyAtWorkBlog has been following the discussions about safety of all-terrain vehicles and quad bikes for some time. This is because the use of these vehicles encapsulate so many of the issues that workplace safety needs to deal with: Safe design Personal protective equipment Hierarchy of controls The line between private activity and work activity Personal responsibility The “nanny … Continue reading “Quad bike safety issues continue with no end in sight”
New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has released some statistics on quad bike incidents in support of its attendance at field days in mid-June 2010 and the release of three new agricultural safety publications. The media release quotes research from the Otago University. “Three farmers or agricultural workers died and nearly 300 were injured in … Continue reading “New Zealand farm advocates talk briefly on quad bike safety”
As the Northern Hemisphere enters its Summer, the use of quad bikes will increase and the UK’s Health & Safety Executive has indicated it will be policing the vehicles’ use. In the press release on 3 June 2010, the HSE reveals that “Each year an average of two people die and more than 1,000 are injured in quad bike … Continue reading “Scottish quad bike safety”
Prominent OHS unionist, Yossi Berger*, has attempted to place the issue of quad bike safety in the greater context of OHS In the latest issue of the Australian Workers’ Union’s Say Safety magazine (only available in hard copy). Berger says that the current debate between safety advocates and vehicle manufacturers over quad bikes is the … Continue reading “Quad bike safety remains a hot topic in Australia”