Farmers resist quad-bike helmets plea

File photo / Thinkstock

Northland farmers are resisting calls to wear helmets when riding quadbikes on farms.

The Brain Injury Association Northland and the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) are pushing for helmets to be worn to minimise the risk of head injuries.

Every year, 850 people are injured while riding quad bikes on farms around the country and five die, according to the Department of Labour.

The latest accident involving a quad bike was in Kauri, just north of Whangarei, last month when a 19-year-old farm worker suffered serious head injuries when he fell off a quad bike that then landed on him.

Before that, three people died in separate quad bike accidents in Kaikohe, Dargaville and at Marua.

The Brain Injury Association has recently taken over running of a canteen, situated adjacent to the Kauri Saleyards, and its members decided to bring awareness about helmets by talking to farmers who brought or purchased livestock.

Association manager Vanessa Gray said quad bike helmets would help minimise the risk of injury.

"The farming environment is quite unpredictable," she said. "The unexpected can happen and since we're in an ideal environment amongst people here, we thought of just talking to people and raising that awareness."

This week is also Brain Awareness Week and the association has dedicated today as HAT or Have a Think about Brain Injury Day.

Ms Gray has invited Northlanders to wear a hat today and think about brain injury.

She says 90 New Zealanders sustain a brain injury daily- a hidden epidemic in our community.

But Northland farmers are not convinced. Maungaturoto dairy farmer Peter Underwood said he and other farmers he knew were never brought up wearing helmets on quad bikes.

Kokopu farmer Denis Anderson said it was difficult to get people to wear helmets on farms.

"I am not totally convinced that there's enough evidence head injuries are the cause of deaths," he said.

"The most important thing is for our staff to ride quad bikes sensibly and responsibly."

Whananaki farmer Neville Edge said he'd never wear a helmet on his farm because it was a nuisance when working with stock.

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-APNZ