Incentive for Quad Safety

THIS week the Westpac Rescue Helicopter was called to another quad bike accident in Stockton and they say it is at least the third quad bike accident they have attended in less than two months.

Barry Wilton, from the Westpac Rescue Helicopter said the severity of a quad bike injury is often not known until they fly the patient to a emergency department and they encourage quad bike users to take advantage of safety training on offer.

Farmers are encouraged to apply for funding for quad bike safety.

“It depends on the terrain, often when there is a possibility of a roll over it can result in a crush injury to the chest or pelvis, stomach and so forth,” Mr Wilton said.

“It’s a heavy weight that can squash the internals of your body, whether it is your arm, stomach or chest what the outcome is is unknown until you can fly the patient to hospital for further assessment, because sometimes the internal injury can be severe and unknown until you get them to the emergency department,” he said.

“They are not a light weight toy they are a pretty serious piece of equipment and if ridden right you’ll get a lot of usage and fun to a degree, it depends on where you are and it’s like driving a car you’ve got to be careful and cautious and know your limitations,” he said.

“A lot of it has to do with user knowledge and also the fact of ensuring you have a helmet, whether it is recreational or work roles you just have to be safe and do the right thing and don’t over estimate your capabilities,” Barry Wilton said.

SafeWork NSW has been tracking the quad bike accidents the Westpac Rescue Helicopter attends and have initiated a quad bike improvement program offering rebates to farmers and their workers of up to $500 in total.

The rebate includes up to:

• $310 for quad bike training;
• $250 for protective devices;
• $500 to purchase a side-by-side vehicle and
• $45 to purchase a helmet.

The rebate is available in New South Wales from July 19, 2016 until June 30, 2017.

Further details can be found on the NSW Farmers website: NSW Quad Safety Improvement Program.