Recently New Zealand stole some of Australia’s thunder on quad bike safety when, according to one media report, one of the country’s state-owned enterprises, Landcorp Farming Limited decided it: “…will not be using quad bikes on its new farms, and is limiting use of the vehicles elsewhere, as it looks for a safer and more suitable alternative.” The … Continue reading “New Zealand’s LandCorp reduces quad bike use”
The chair of Safe Work Australia, Rex Hoy, makes an extraordinary challenge to the manufacturers of quad bikes. In a media statement released on 26 April 2013, he “…has called on the designers and manufacturers of quad bikes to urgently reconsider improving the design of quad bikes so they are not prone to roll over.” … Continue reading “Safe Work Australia vs Quad Bike Manufacturers”
Australian research has provided an important additional element to discussions on the safety of using quad bikes as work vehicles on Australian farms. According to a media release to be published on 3 April 2013 from the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety (ACAHS): “Two new papers released today in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health ….indicate that the costs … Continue reading “Quad bike fatalities cost an average of at least $2.3 million”
Since the quad bike safety roundtable a couple of months ago, the safety debate about quad bikes has been quiet however, the issue has lost little of its topicality. On 5 December The Weekly Times again devoted its front page, and editorial, to quad bike safety. The newsworthiness stems from quad bike manufacturer, CFMoto offering “…the … Continue reading “One quad bike manufacturer seizes the day on safety”
Soon another Australian State, South Australia, will be using the concept of the PCBU – the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking in its occupational health and safety laws. This concept has the potential to expand OHS laws well beyond the traditional factory fence or office and the recent discussion on the safety of quad … Continue reading “PCBUs, farms, quad bikes and safety – a speculation”
On 19 October 2012 in a video address to an Australian forum on quad bike safety, the US Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Robert Adler stated “We at the US CPSC are monitoring your activities closely with the hope that what you learn can help us back here in the United States.” That places considerable attention on the … Continue reading “The world looks to Australia for quad bike safety changes”
At the end of August 2012, Australia’s Minster for Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, released a discussion paper on quad bike safety. The intention of the discussion paper is a: “…calls for submissions on potential improvements to quad bike safety to reduce the alarming rate of quad bike fatalities and injuries…. The comments received will be discussed … Continue reading “The Australian Government looks to apply “above-the-line” safety to quad bikes”