Workplace safety is non-negotiable.
Quad bikes are the leading cause of injury and death on Australian farms.
This year they have already claimed nine lives and caused an average of six emergency department visits a day.
Calls for stronger quad bike safety standards and mandatory operator protection devices (OPDs) from the VFF and other industry bodies were answered last week by the federal government.
The new quad bike safety standards, including mandatory OPDs on all new quad bikes, are a significant step towards safer workplaces for our farmers, their employees and families.
However, the safety standards announced last week will only apply to new quad bikes.
So there will still be thousands of quad bikes in use around Victoria without OPDs.
The good news if you already own a quad bike is that the VFF has negotiated an extension of the successful Quad Bike Safety Rebate Scheme to June 2020.
You can improve your safety quickly and easily by applying for a $1200 Quad Bike Safety Rebate to cover the cost of up to two OPDs or it can go towards the purchase of a safer side-by-side farm vehicle.
You can apply for the rebate by calling the VFF on (03) 9207 5517 or visit our website before the rebate scheme closes on June 30, 2020.
While these new standards are a welcome improvement, they won't address all of the safety issues associated with quad bikes.
Of the nine quad bike deaths this year, three of them have been children aged 10, seven and three, and hundreds of children each year suffer life-altering injuries inflicted by quad bike accidents.
If you own a quad bike, never allow a child to ride or be a passenger on it, the risk is too great.
- David Jochinke, VFF president