Make sure you have the following things in place when you’re operating vehicles on farm.
After making sure the the vehicle is in good nick, the operator is trained/experienced/competent, and they’re confident to take a particular route, it makes sense to:
– Always wear a properly fitted helmet and have ROPS/safety frame fitted on quad bikes.
– Always wear seatbelts in other farm vehicles if you’re going somewhere tricky, or if there is any chance of doing more than say 30kmph. This includes tractors, utes and side-by-sides.
– Use seatbelts and wear a helmet when in a side-by-side, or at least put some decent padding on the roll frame – hitting your head on the metal frame can also cause serious damage.
– There’s no shame in hopping off and walking if you’re at all concerned about the situation you’re in – it’s better than taking the machine somewhere you might regret.
None of this is about telling farmers how to farm – it’s about sharing some observations and learning from things that have gone wrong for someone else. We need to move the dial from “she’ll be right” to “let’s do it right”.
ACC has also recognised the benefits of rollover protection on quad bikes by helping with the cost of installation – see here for more.
There are a few approved options – check them out and see which model meets your requirements.
Read the stories and share stories with people on farm and together, we can help make farms safer places for everyone.