Lambing season leads to Quad Bike safety warning

As the lambing season approaches, potentially one of the busiest times of the year for using quad bikes, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is urging farmers to make sure that they wear a safety helmet when using the machines which are also known as ATVs or "all terrain vehicles".

HSE Inspector Stephen Britton, who has more than seven years experience investigating accidents and incidents on farms across the North East said:

"Quad bikes are an essential part of farm life, particularly on upland farms. During lambing when farmers and shepherds are constantly out in the fields keeping an eye on their flocks, the temptation can be there to just hop on to the quad bike without stopping to take the time to put on a safety helmet, but it is illegal not to wear a safety helmet when using a quad bike for work based activity.

"We expect everyone on a farm to have had proper training in the safe handling of the bike, and most importantly to wear a safety helmet.

and HSE has taken prosecutions of farm managers for failing to protect people with helmets. We hold regular farm based safety and health awareness days to advise farmers and their employees of the need to operate their farm and equipment in an effective and safe manner, and on these we ask how many people have come off their quadbike. We find that around 80% of people have come off the bike at some point, so it is a case of when you are going to come off rather than if."

The dangers of not wearing a safety helmet where highlighted during the recent Alnwick Safer Working Community week when a rescue situation of a lone worker who was not wearing a safety helmet and crashed a quad bike over a dangerous crag was staged., with the victim being rescued by a helicopter from RAF Boulmer. The difficulties of getting an ambulance crew to a site that was pre-selected highlights the need for caution, because if you do come off unless you arrange a return time you may not be missed for many hours, alone on a cold hillside.

Mr Britton continued:

"Over a ten year period between 1996 and 2006, 23 people died at work on quad bikes and 17 of those involved head injuries where the victim was wearing no head protection. That illustrates the very real risk that farmers are exposing themselves to and why we want to remind people of the need to ensure they are properly protected."

High profile casualties in recent years, including Ozzy Ozbourne and Rik Mayall have helped raise awareness of the dangers of quad bike use.

Mr Britton added:

"Everyone who uses a quad bike should be trained. There is a requirement for all people who use quad bikes on farms as part of their work to be trained how to use them, as well as wear a helmet.

The Health and Safety at Work legislation doesn't cover leisure use, but the risks are just the same, and if it was my family I would want them to be trained and an acceptable helmet can be bought for around #30."

Advice and information on the safe use of quad bikes can found on the HSE web site at www.hse.gov.uk , alternatively, the HSE leaflet on quad bike safety can be obtained from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO 10 2WA.