What Happened?
This safety alert is being sent out to advise of an incident where an employee lost control of a quad bike while working their dogs. A key lesson from this incident is the influence of distraction.
Why did it happen?
- A shepherd was working dogs while riding their quad bike.
- They lost sight of a dog and were looking for it while continuing to ride.
- The rider did not see that the bike was drifting off track until the vehicle started to tip.
- Preliminary findings from this event suggest the shepherd was distracted, was not actively riding the quad and failed to see the risk of continuing to ride while looking for the dog.
Key Lessons
- Don't be distracted. All vehicles need to be driven actively.
- All vehicles need drivers to be aware of where they are travelling to and potential risks ahead of them. You can't expect the vehicle to know where it's going!
- In this case the rider needed to focus on actively riding the vehicle.
Multi-tasking isn't worth it
- Multitasking doesn't save time. Studies show drivers take longer to reach their destinations when chatting on cell phones and were 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident.
- Looking for the dog meant the rider wasn't concentrating on the main task. They could have stopped or looked for the dog on foot.
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