Farm Safety Week is a great opportunity for the farming community to refocus their efforts and commitment to farm safety. My advice is, don’t leave safety to chance, it’s just not worth the risk.

The grief and trauma caused by a fatality is immeasurable and my deepest sympathy goes to anyone who has had to live through such a difficult and life changing event.

The shock and disbelief that results from a serious accident or sudden death can be overwhelming. The questioning of “if only?” or “what if?” is normal, but also difficult to deal with.

A serious farm accident can cause much suffering to the individual and farm family, and in addition it can lead to significant loss in quality of life. I’d encourage anyone who has been affected by a serious or fatal accident to reach out to Embrace FARM for support.

Given that most farm accidents can be prevented by ensuring that vehicles, machinery, facilities and equipment are maintained in good repair and by ensuring that safe farming practices are followed, I’m strongly urging farmers to take the time to carry out a risk assessment, identify the hazards, the associated risks and implement appropriate safety controls and work practices.

This year during Farm Safety Week there also needs to be a special focus on quad bike (ATV) safety.

New quad regulations

New quad bike regulations will come into place in November of this year. These regulations require that operators of quad bikes in workplaces must have successfully completed a quad bike training course, provided by a registered training provider to a QQI standard or equivalent.

Additionally all such operators must wear appropriate head protection while operating a quad bike.

The main contributory factors or underlying cause of quad bike accidents include the lack of formal operator training and/or experience; excessive speed; overturning on challenging terrain, overloading of the quad, carrying passengers and poor maintenance. This information reinforces the importance of formal training on safe operation of quad bikes.

Farming safely is a choice. Don’t take chances, it’s not worth the risk.