A new statewide multimedia campaign aims to highlight the importance of quad bike safety heading into the harvest and holiday season.
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The 'Ride Safe' campaign launch on Tuesday saw six quad bikes transported from their rural setting to be upturned on Parliament Lawns in Hobart to illustrate the dangers of unsafe riding.
Over the past eight years, 128 Australians have died riding quad bikes, including 18 children.
This year, three Tasmanians have died due to quad bike accidents.
READ MORE ABOUT QUAD BIKE SAFETY IN TASMANIA:
- 'Kids and quads don't mix': Australasian College of Surgeons
- Labor calls for government action on quad bike laws following death of 9-year-old boy
- New rebate scheme to encourage safer quad bike use
- TFGA welcomes quad bike rebates for farmers, continues call for safety measures to be mandatory
- Quad bike helmet shown at budget estimates hearing
- Safe Farming Tasmania running statewide quad bike safety sessions
- Farm quad bikes to get mandatory roll bars
WorkSafe Tasmania chief executive Mark Cocker said, when used inappropriately, quad bikes could be dangerous.
"Always ride safe, adopt an active riding style, wear a helmet, undertake appropriate training, don't let children ride adult-sized quad bikes and consider fitting a rollover protection device," Mr Cocker said.
Mr Cocker said for about 4000 quad bikes across Tasmania, only 54 applications have been received for the state's cash-back rebate scheme for the fit of rollover bars.
"I'd like to see it improve," he said.
Safe Farming Tasmania senior consultant Phillip John said the idea behind placing bikes overturned at the launch was to reflect reality.
"This is what happens. The number of fatalities associated with these things is about 50-50 between bikes rolling over and being crushed underneath them and people not wearing helmets," Mr Johns said.
"[The bikes] can be a very useful tool on a farm, and they can be fun to ride, but we want people to stop and think about what can happen when things go wrong."
Building and Construction Minister Elise Archer said, while the campaign may be confronting, it was important to remind quad bike users to ride safely.
"It features powerful television and print commercials which draw attention to the alarming number of quad bike fatalities that have occurred over the last decade in Tasmania and across Australia," Ms Archer said.
For more information visit WorkSafe's website.