Farmers are being reminded that new regulations around the safe use of quad bikes in Ireland will come into force next week.
From Monday (November 20), it will be compulsory for all quad bike operators to wear a helmet.
All helmets should have a chinstrap and be capable of being used with suitable eye protection.
Standard industrial hard hats, forestry helmets and cyclist helmets are not acceptable for operating quad.
All quad bike helmets should fit comfortably and securely, to ensure full protection.
The regulation, which is the first of its kind in the European Union, means that anyone using a quad will have to complete an all terrain vehicle (ATV) training course provided by a registered provider to a Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) standard or equivalent.
The purpose of the course is to equip the learner with the relevant knowledge, skill and competence to drive and handle an ATV in a safe manner and in compliance with relevant legislation.
Quad
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has said that farming remains the most dangerous sector in Ireland with 191 fatalities recorded on farms between 2013–2022.
Vehicles and machinery are involved in the highest number of farm fatalities in Ireland.
In the past ten years, they accounted for 52% of all farm deaths and 8% of all injuries on farms.
Over the past decade there have been 10 farm fatalities involving quads, of which two were under 18 and six were over 65 years of age.
The HSA has outlined the main causes of serious or fatal injury associated with ATV/quad bikes as follows:
- Being thrown off during vehicle overturns or after loss of control;
- Collisions with structures, trees, poles, other vehicles;
- Being trapped under an overturned machine;
- Being drowned under a quad bike overturned in a water course;
- Pedestrians being struck or run over by an ATV/quad bikes.
The are many potential contributory factors and underlying causes of quad-related accidents including: lack of training/experience; lack of head protection; excessive speed; carrying a passenger; poor maintenance and loss of control on a steep slope.
Helmets
According to a recently published study, no helmet was in use in half of the quad-bike accidents examined over a six-year period in Ireland.
69 cases of quad-bike related trauma were identified between 2014-2019 following an analysis of data from the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA) in Ireland.
The study was carried out by Enda Hession, Michael Sheehan and John Cronin from the Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Vincent’s University Hospital, along with Louise Brent of NOCA.
91% of those involved in the 69 quad-bike accidents were male and the median age of those injured was 27.
A quarter of the accidents involved a person under the age of 18, 64% were aged 19-65, while 12% of the incidents related to a person over 65 years.
The study found that the most severely injured body region was the head, which featured in 30% of cases. No helmet use was recorded in 50% of the accidents.