DECEMBER 2018
Farm Safety
www.irishfarmersmonthly.com
A letter received by An Garda Síochána from the
North Pole Department of Communications was
unveiled on Facebook recently.
The letter from Santa Claus himself was addressed to
Commissioner Harris explaining his concern about children
requesting quadbikes and scramblers for Christmas
The letter read as follows:
`Dear Commissioner Harris,
It's your old friend Santa here I'm in a pickle and I hope
you can help me out. The boys and girls of Ireland have
been sending me lovely letters with their Christmas wishes.
Some children have asked me for quadbikes / scramblers!
I'm very worried. I've seen how many young people are
injured each year in quadbike accidents.
Please pass on this safety message: quadbikes are not
suitable gifts for children unless they are used with safety
equipment and in a safe place (not a public road). They
cannot be used in public parks unless there is a designated
area. I can't bear to see any more hurt children or sad
parents!
I've made my list and I'm checking it twice, looking forward
to visiting Ireland on the 25th,
Best wishes,
Santa
With Santa's concerns in mind, we thought we would remind
readers of the Health, Safety Quad Bike Safety update (June
2018) from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).
Vehicles continue to be the biggest killers on Irish farms. In the
period 2008-2017 there were 12 quad bike fatalities out of a
total of 64 farm vehicle fatalities.
Quad bike fatalities represented 19 per cent of all farm vehicle
fatalities during this period. 75 per cent of those that suffered
fatal quad bike accidents were aged 60 years or older.
In general, roll-over bars are not provided with quad bikes
because traditional roll bar design depends for its effectiveness
on the operator wearing a seatbelt. In the absence of a
seatbelt, there is a risk of the thrown operator being struck by
the bars in the event of a roll-over.
More recently, roll-over protection devices have appeared on
the market designed for use with quad bikes. At least one of
these has been certified in accordance with the requirements
of the European Communities Machinery Directive and the
Authority has been asked for its view on these devices.
Fitting of CE Marked Roll-Over Protection Devices (i.e. ROPs),
now available on the market for all-terrain vehicles (ATVs)
or quad bikes, is at the discretion of the owner/operator.
The Health and Safety Authority does not have sufficient
information at this time to form a view on the effectiveness of
these novel designs and thus is not issuing an instruction or
recommendation in respect of such devices.
Priority must always be given to:
f
operator training,
f
wearing of safety gear such as gloves, safety footwear and
head protection,
f
control of speed, and
f
planning and checking of route.
Source: HSA
FBD Insurance Group Ltd trading as FBD Insurance is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Protection.
It's in our nature.
01 7 617 617 fbd.ie
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29/08/2018 11:40
All I want for Christmas...
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