00:00On this beef property in northern Tasmania, they've switched from quad bikes to side-by-side
00:07vehicles.
00:08They're a little safer.
00:10They do have similar challenges of a rollover risk, but we like the ability to put a seat
00:16belt on to mitigate against that, but it's really important that you still wear a helmet
00:20when you use them.
00:21As a farmer and Chair of Farm Safety Australia, Felicity Richards walks the safety talk.
00:27We need people to be making decisions that keep them safe when no one's watching, and
00:33when the pressure's on, when you're tired.
00:35Dairy farmer Paul Bennett phased out quad bikes 15 years ago.
00:40As the bikes have got more powerful, we believe they're inherently unsafe for our staff to
00:44be on.
00:45In Australia, incidents involving quad bikes, or ATVs, kill on average 15 people every year.
00:52They're the leading cause of accidental death and serious injury on Australian farms.
00:57They are dangerous if they're not used properly and people aren't trained in how to operate
01:01the things properly.
01:03During 2020 and 2021, a suite of safety reforms were introduced nationally, including mandatory
01:10roll bars on all new quad bikes.
01:12But the deaths of two teenagers in ATV accidents in Tasmania last year, one involving a quad
01:19bike and one a side-by-side, prompted two coroners to call for further regulation.
01:25They've repeated previous recommendations to introduce mandatory training and licensing
01:29for everyone, as well as age restrictions and passenger limits.
01:35Training and passenger restrictions are already compulsory in workplaces, but not for recreational
01:40riders on private property.
01:43Farming users aren't convinced more regulation is needed.
01:46I actually don't see how it can be enforced, because until there's an accident, and that's
01:51when enforcement comes in and the regulation will really hurt people, but it's too late
01:57then.
01:58People have to be proactive and make the workplace as safe as they can.
02:01Farm safety experts want to shift in attitudes.
02:04We want to be pushing the training side of things, so if you're a farmer and you've got
02:07a quad bike, make sure your people are trained, make sure they're wearing helmets.
02:11The government says it's unusual for it to intervene in the use of equipment on private
02:16land, and it does not intend to mandate training, licensing or passenger limits when quad bikes
02:22are used on private property.
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