The Rural Doctors Association of Australia says its received strong support, from its membership, for the fitting of Operator Protection Devices on quad bikes.
RDAA president Dr John Hall said he was encouraged by the positive feedback he received from other rural doctors about the Association's stance on quad bike safety.
"We have partnered with the National Farmers Federation over a number of years campaigning for the mandatory fitting of OPDs on all new quad bikes," Dr Hall said.
"I have been really heartened by the positive emails and calls we received from our members thanking us for our strong stance and recent public stance on the issue.
Read more:
He said rural doctors played a unique role in their communities, working across both the general practice and hospital settings.
"We see firsthand the trauma cases that come through the door of the emergency department, many of whom we know personally, and worse sign the death certificates for those tragically killed perhaps just going about their daily work or else as a result of a horrific lapse of judgement," Dr Hall said..
"But we also deal with the fallout - the family and friends affected by the deaths.
"We see patients in our general practices as they struggle to cope after losing a father, a husband, a wife, a mother or a child."
Dr Hall said the RDAA supported further education and licencing for quad bike users, but were also painfully and acutely aware that accidents wouldl continue to happen.
"A fixed operator protection device is something that is with the bike all the time, no matter who is riding it, and helping to prevent the catastrophic asphyxiations that are so often the result of being crushed in a rollover."
The ACCC Quad Bike Taskforce conducted a comprehensive, two-year safety investigation and in 2019 recommended the adoption of a mandatory safety standard for all new quad bikes sold in Australia which included improved information for potential purchasers, enhanced quad bike stability, and rollover protection to reduce injuries and deaths.
"The ACCC has done their due diligence here and we strongly support all three safety measures, but we find this this push-back on the fitting of OPDs very concerning," Dr Hall said.
"Some of our members who have contacted us were involved in the push to install similar devices, Roll Over Protection (ROPs), on tractors some three decades ago.
"These are now mandatory on all tractors, and were so successful that the government sponsored a subsidy to retrofit ROPs to older tractors to improve their safety."
He said the RDAA saw OPDs on quad bikes as a similar initiative, only they would probably save even more lives, due to the sheer number of accidents that happen on these machines.
Have you signed up to Stock & Land's daily newsletter? Register below to make sure you are up to date with everything that's important to Victorian agriculture.
