A personal story
Winter 2016, seven years prior to becoming a WorkSafe inspector, I was riding a quad bike on a farm. I was going up a slope in the cow paddock when I hit a hole dug by the bull. The quad bike rolled and I went underneath it. Fortunately for me, the quad bike continued its roll and landed on its wheels again, leaving me a bit sore and very embarrassed. I was a reasonably experienced rider at that stage, and felt comfortable in that situation, but the environment changed, and I was caught lacking.
Since becoming a WorkSafe inspector, I have seen a number of quad bike incidents. Often, like me, the rider is experienced and in a location that they are familiar with. Often, the quad bike has not been fitted with any crush protection device and prior to operating the quad bike there has been no risk assessment to ask the question, ’Should I be using a quad bike or a different vehicle?’
There are legal requirements in the workplace for PCBUs, requiring them to provide a high standard of health and safety and to mitigate risks as far as practicable. WorkSafe has produced a guide: Quad bikes in workplaces.
I would ask anyone using a quad bike in the workplace to familiarise themselves with this document, the legal requirements for themselves, to do that risk assessment for vehicle selection, and if you still see the need to use a quad bike, put appropriate controls in place to mitigate the risks.
Managing risks
Quad bikes are popular vehicles used within a range of Western Australian industries to undertake tasks quickly and efficiently, but they also present risks, which must be reduced as far as practicable.
Each year across Australia, workplace incidents involving quad bikes result in many injuries and fatalities, leading to a vast emotional and financial cost.
Suitability
Critically assess whether a quad bike is the right vehicle for the job. Check to see whether the operator is physically able to maintain an active riding style over a potentially long time period. Side-by-side vehicles may be more suitable in rural workplaces as the operator remains seated, they have seatbelts and they have rollover protection structures.
Loads
Avoid towing attachments or carrying loads. These could affect the stability and performance of the quad bike. Carrying a moving load such as liquid on a quad bike should be avoided as it will shift, altering the centre of gravity when turning corners and on slopes.
Operator protection devices
The Consumer Goods (Quad Bikes) Safety Standard 2019 requires operator protection devices (OPDs) to be fitted to:
- new general use quad bikes
- imported, second hand, general use quad bikes.
OPDs reduce the risk of serious crush injuries and deaths if a quad bike rolls over. OPDs should be fitted to all quad bikes used in the workplace
If you buy a quad bike fitted with an OPD, you should not remove it.
If you remove it, you must replace it with something that would provide equivalent or greater protection, such as another type of OPD.
Terrain
Flat terrain is best for quad bikes. You increase the risk of a quad bike incident by riding them on rocky, steep, uneven, sandy or muddy terrain.
Helmets
Always wear an appropriate helmet that fits well when riding a quad bike.
Quad bike fatalities: A snapshot
- There have been 205 quad bike fatalities recorded in Australia (2011 – present).
- Based on current evidence, quad bikes rolling over accounts for sixty per cent of fatalities.
- Eight per cent of fatalities are children under 10 years old.
- Fifty per cent of fatalities are people aged above 50 years old.
- Males make up over eighty per cent of the fatalities.
Statistics from Safe Work Australia Quad bikes | dataswa
Further information