Quad bikes risk to kids: report

With more children and visitors on the farm during the festive season, Federated Farmers is warning farmers about the dangers of children and inexperienced riders on farm bikes.

The warning comes after the Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee released a report on child deaths involving agricultural vehicles, including quad and farm bikes.

On average every year three children aged under 15 die in off-road vehicle accidents in New Zealand.

Wairarapa Federated Farmers dairy president Jamie Falloon said farmers needed to be aware of the risks with more children and visitors on farm during the holidays.

He advised farmers not to let inexperienced children drive farm vehicles.

"Take extra care," he said. "Especially with children who don't come from a farming background. Nobody wants anything to go wrong but things happen ... kids are excited. It could all be new to them."

While he didn't agree with the rules around farmers taking visitors on a tour of their farm, rules around quad bikes needed to be adhered to, he said.

"Be sensible," he said.

Meanwhile, a report from the Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee, which operates under the umbrella of the Health Quality and Safety Commission, showed 33 children were killed in accidents on New Zealand farms between 2002 and 2012, including Kahutara 10-year-old Shane White who died in a quad bike crash in October 2012.

Only swimming and other water activities led to more recreational deaths of children, the report said.

Of the 33 children killed, 15 were on motorbikes, 12 of those quad bikes. Twenty-two were driving the vehicles themselves - one aged under 4, five aged between 5 and 9, and 16 aged between 10 and 14.

Committee chairwoman Dr Felicity Dumble said children were inexperienced, lacked the size and strength and didn't have the cognitive development to be safe on agricultural vehicles.

"Too often, parents and caregivers fail to recognise the dangers these powerful machines pose for children ... risks are further increased when vehicles are used outside the scope of the manufacturer's design and safety guidelines."

Children under 16 shouldn't be in control of quad bikes of any size, Dr Dumble said.

The report also recommends ACC takes responsibility for off-road vehicle child and youth injury prevention, leading cross-sector planning, implementation and evaluation of safety interventions.

It also recommends training should be widely available for children and young people and be encouraged before they operate a farm bike. The committee also calls for minimum construction standards for off-road vehicles imported into New Zealand and that the exemptions for farmers under the Land Transport Act 1998 be re-evaluated, including helmet use and on-road use of farm bikes.

The aim of the recommendations was to acknowledge what was reasonable, achievable and acceptable while challenging behaviours and attitudes associated with suitable risks for children and young people, Dr Dumble said.