A young boy has died in a quad bike incident on an Australian farm last weekend. What the boy was doing at the time of the incident is unclear and whether the quad bike was a work vehicle or recreational is also unclear, but the current sensitivities of the issue of quad bike safety have raised media attention once more. In … Continue reading “Quad bike safety is showing a political shift”
On 12 June 2010, SafetyAtWorkBlog noted the spokesperson for the National Farmers Federation, Duncan Fraser, supporting the voluntary fitting of roll protection devices to quadbikes in specific circumstances. On 20 June 2011, the New South Wales Farmers Federation’s Industrial Relations Committee Chair Graham Morphett has spoken in favour of “the mandatory fitting of roll bars” to quad bikes. This is an extraordinary blow … Continue reading “Farming federation calls for mandatory fitting of safety devices to quadbikes”
Not only are quadbike manufacturers resisting the inevitable, they have gone on the attack with posters being distributed that criticise the installation of crush protection devices (CPD)s, safety devices increasingly being recommended by safety advocates, farm safety specialists and government departments in Australia. According The Weekly Times on 16 June 2011, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Polaris and Kawasaki and others are … Continue reading “Quad bike poster distracts from the evidence”
Pressure is increasing on the manufacturers of quad bikes in Australia and from a variety of sources. The Weekly Times newspaper continues, almost fortnightly, to report on the safety debate about the use and design of quad bikes. The 9 June edition has a double-page spread on the issue with many direct quotes from “players” … Continue reading “Quad bike manufacturers resist the inevitable”
At the end of May 2011, The Weekly Times newspaper reported that the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment “has enforced limited use of ATVs by staff while it conducted a risk assessment on their use.” SafetyAtWorkBlog has learned that a New South Wales government department has taken similar action through to August 2011. Kevin … Continue reading “Another government department limits ATV/quad bike use over safety concerns”
SafetyAtWorkBlog was able to contact the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’ Rhys Griffiths this afternoon seeking clarification of the FCAI’s withdrawal from quad bike safety discussions reported yesterday. Prior to withdrawing, a document was read to the quad bike safety working group. The document has not been released publicly but below is the gist. Further … Continue reading “Source data from within the quad bike safety stoush”
In early 2010, Australia’s Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (HWSA) established a trans-Tasman working party to look at the safety issues of quad bikes, often called all-terrain vehicles. The working group is in the final stages of its report and a major motorcycle industry representative has not liked the findings and has apparently withdrawn from the working group. A report on … Continue reading “Quad bike manufacturers walk out of safety working group”