The Queensland Government today launched its ‘Statewide Plan for Improving Quad Bike Safety in Queensland’ held at the University of Queensland’s Gatton campus.
The two major initiatives of the plan are to raise awareness of the risks associated with quad bike use and enhance operator skill and safety. The plan will focus on community education and awareness about quad bike safety risks, improving quad bike operator skill and safety and Government leadership in promoting quad bike safety.
The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) today welcomed the State Government’s move to address the unacceptable levels of quad bike death and injury related incidents in Queensland.
QFF President Stuart Armitage thanked the Government for its holistic Workplace Health and Safety approach that has worked closely and consultatively with industry.
“The plan has been able to bring together a number of departments and industry representatives to ensure any changes to quad bike regulation and interactions are consistent with community and industry expectations,”
“QFF and its industry member organisations acknowledge that the statistics around quad bike accidents in Queensland, over 1500 hospitalisations between 2009 & 2013 and 69 deaths in the past 15 years, simply don’t lie and something needed to be done,”
“Whilst QFF recognise that incidents are a mixture of work and recreational, we have reached the point where we can no longer draw the line between the two,”
“QFF will work with Government to implement a plan to engage our agriculture, regional and rural communities to ensure we see an end to unnecessary quad bike incidents in Queensland,”
“Quad bike safety is an issue that affects communities across the state and requires urgent action to improve safety outcomes. We commend the government for its consultative efforts to address certain entrenched unsafe practices and attitudes in the community.”