A picture creates a thousand words

01-09-2010 | Roger Barton

A recent issue of Country-Wide Northern had a cracking photo on the front of a string of quad bikes on a dusty road, three people on every machine and not a skid lid in sight.

It was a great day for those at Homewood for the Wairarapa Sheep and Beef Farm Business of the Year expose´. The weather was perfect and the hosts had some great take-home messages. So what was the problem with the photo?

For most sheep and beef farmers it was standard fare, but for health and safety professionals it was all wrong.

The issue came up as I sat through a meeting in Wellington as part of a working group looking at Kiwis' laid-back attitude to these machines. I was one of 11 who met that day. I was the only full-time user. Dave Anderson, our local Suzuki franchise holder in the Wairarapa, was also there. Some had a reasonable level of interface with ATVs and/or farmers; others had close to none at all but did have an understanding of the wider vehicle industry and regulations governing their use, albeit on the road.

The organising committee for the Homewood field day had worked out the logical route, around 37km in total with about 2km on a gravel road. The farm tracks were in good order and conditions were fine, which meant safety issues were minimal. Bear in mind that 280 people and close to 100 ATVs were at this event.

The working group's initial reaction was that everyone should have had their own ATV and failing that an alternate mode of transport should have been found. One suggestion was minivans (after all we were on a gravel road), another was the use of tractors and trailers.

It is quite hard to tactfully explain to dedicated people that none of their ideas actually works logically. Where would you find 25 tractors - plus trailers - able to cart the 280 around? If it was wet, would you want to be the 25th tractor in the parade, and would that meet the safety model that the organising committee sought?

The logistics of getting 280 ATVs on site would be interesting. Barbie and I and our Taratahi student travelled out with one vehicle, trailer and one ATV. An efficient combination of available resources. In one breath we are told to reduce our carbon footprint and in the next worry only about performing to the perfect model (one person an ATV).

My view is that on these occasions it is efficient and safe to carry passengers as long as they are carefully directed as to what to do and not to do. Several at the field day were not full-time users, representing the likes of sponsoring companies. Invariably the driver will be the most competent of the trio on board.

I remember much hairier trips when we used to use utes. Wet conditions and a cut-up track make this far riskier than using lighter footed ATVs.

More recently, the Wellington coroner has come out swinging over the lack of helmet use and a plea for roll-over protection and seatbelts. The helmets comment is legitimate but unfortunately the thought of being encased in some safety frame concept and seatbelted in for good measure scares the hell out of me, given the use of ATVs on steep hill country. It would increase the death rate from rollover. It would also take away the means to "actively" ride ATVs, something promoted as good practice - and one of manufacturers' areas of concern when passengers are carried because it limits "active" riding.

In another recent media item Federated Farmers and ACC argued the toss over statistics of farm use versus recreational use and the respective accident and injury rate. At no stage did either party attempt to address some of the issues causing accident and injury in order to prompt a change in behaviour, an opportunity missed.

Can we do better in our general use of these machines? Yes we can. Where do we start? My view is rider training is a key platform. The time has come for mandatory training under 20.

With this policy we would pick up a high proportion of users. Why not compulsory training? Because it would become a law made to be broken.

Stop adding all the paraphernalia to bikes. Manufacturers do all they can to provide soft mouldings on as many edges as possible, then farmers go and stuff it up by adding bull bars.

Maintenance could often be better. Trying to make that set of tyres get through to the end of the financial year doesn't save $500 because you've already had $470 worth of value. Change tyres earlier, especially if you do trailer/implement work. Also be careful of accidents after going from worn tyres to new hungrier gripping tyres, especially around changes of surface (off dirt on to gravel track or sealed surface).

Is the 4WD fully functional. The drive and change mechanisms between two and four-wheel-drive on some bikes are not foolproof.

Brake maintenance can be pitiful. This may work with someone who knows the bike and its limitations, but is an accident waiting to happen for a new user.

Think about fitting a reverse beeper. Both my bikes have them. It is almost impossible to find a constant user of ATVs that hasn't had a near miss because they forgot the bike was in reverse when they got off to do something else. To put it in perspective, a contemporary of mine missed out on at least six months of his life but for $50.

Take more care when "second tasking". Australian stats have "death while spraying" as the leading cause of death by a country mile.

This list is just a start and everyone's situation is different.

It is time for a sharp change in driver behaviour otherwise legislation awaits. The choice is ours. Remember, too, the cost of accidents comes back on to our industry via ACC levies.

Safe riding.

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