The New Zealand public, especially those who live in rural areas, often watch with sadness and horror when a quad-bike related tragedy occurs on a farm.
Most recently in the media was the tragic death of a six year-old boy in Southland in early January, which highlighted the dangers of a child riding a full-sized quad-bike.
Tragedies like this also raise the question of who is responsible for ensuring the safe operation of quad-bikes on farms.
A number of organisations have recently increased their safety awareness programmes in relation to quad-bikes in rural areas in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents.
While awareness of the danger of quad-bikes has risen, many farmers are now left wondering how they can ensure safe practices on quad-bikes, and what rights and obligations they have as owners, operators, and employers in relation to quad-bikes on farms.
The law which governs the responsibilities of farm owners, employers, employees and those in control of a place of work is the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
An employer or person in control of a place of work has an overarching duty to take all practicable steps to provide a safe working environment for employees and any other persons on the farm riding or around quad-bikes.
"Other persons" in this context includes children on the farm.
The duty requires the minimisation of any potential hazards, which can be achieved through a range of measures from providing safety equipment such as helmets, to maintaining the bike in a good state of repair.
For employers, this may also include having specific policies around the use of quad-bikes, like with loads. It may also include a general ban on children under the age of 16 as passengers (on suitable bikes) or as riders.
A breach of these policies can then lead to disciplinary action.
Also important is preventative measures, such as adequate training and education on how to properly ride a quad bike.
A failure by a farm owner to ensure an employee can competently ride a quad-bike before being allowed to do so may result in liability being imposed upon the farm owner in the event of an accident.
A number of employers have been prosecuted for failing to properly equip or train their employees to ride quad-bikes.
Recently, an employer was fined $78,000 for failing to take all practicable steps to ensure an employee's safety after only providing him with a 15 minute tutorial and no safety equipment before his first quad-bike ride, during which he crashed and subsequently died.
WorkSafe New Zealand has four safety steps for anyone riding quad-bikes as part of their Agricultural Sector Action Plan.
These are:
Riders must be trained/experienced enough to do the job.
Choose the right vehicle for the job _ especially when carrying passengers.
Always wear a helmet.
Do not let kids ride adult quad-bikes.
A failure to comply with these safety steps would likely be an indicator that a farm owner, employer, or person in control of a workplace has not taken all practicable steps to ensure the safety of quad-bike users.
Quad-bike safety is about lifelong education and training to get farmers and recreational users to truly own the issue.
That starts by adhering to WorkSafe NZ's 'four rules', as well as ensuring adequate safety equipment and training is provided for users.
These things would help to ensure that farm owners or employers limit their liability in the event of an accident.
If you have any concernsor specific questions about your health and safety obligations or quad-bike safety in general, call 0800 327-646 (0800 FARMING) to get free, independent legal and employment advice.