17 MARCH 2004

WELSH FARMERS URGED TO USE ATVs SAFELY

WELSH farmers were urged today to take extra precautions when using ATVs following the death last weekend of a 37-year-old Dorset man who fell 30ft to his death when the quad-bike he was riding plunged down an embankment at a West Wales farm.
"I understand transport-related incidents, including ATVs, accounted for 12 of the 32 fatal accidents in agriculture last year so if we are to make an impact on this tragic toll, preventing transport-related accidents must be a priority for all farmers," said FUW President Gareth Vaughan.
"ATV safety is an important part of that. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) already point out their inspectors commonly meet farmers who think they don't need to wear a helmet or get any formal training.
"I urge everyone in the industry to ensure that they and their equipment meet all the required safety standards," Mr Vaughan added. Last Saturday's tragedy at Aberaeron comes less than a month after a father-of-four was killed when a quad-bike toppled on top of him on farmland in North Wales. Builder Brian Williams, 57, was carrying out maintenance work on the farm at Rhyd-Ddu, Gwynedd, when it is believed he lost control of the machine.
He is thought to have become trapped under the bike as he was cleaning out slurry from a cowshed using a scoop fitted to the front of the four-wheeler. And in April 2002 a freak accident claimed the life of 13-year-old Ian Jones - known as Ianto - when he fell off his 200cc Honda in his back garden in Ogmore Vale, near Bridgend.
He suffered fatal head injuries when the bike toppled over a raised wall in a paddock at the back of his house, and threw him to the ground. Among the high-profile casualties of quad-bike crashes are rock star Ozzy Osbourne and comedian Rik Mayall. Ozzy - star of reality show The Osbournes - nearly died when he crashed his bike at his Buckinghamshire estate before Christmas.
The 55-year-old former Black Sabbath singer was in a coma for eight days and suffered eight broken ribs, a smashed collarbone, a punctured lung and a crushed vertebrae.
FUW Senior Policy Officer Rhian Nowell-Phillips said the Union's Education and Training Committee had already discussed the issue with a view to approaching the HSE to highlight the need for training farmers in the safe use of ATVs.
"For their own personal safety, farmers should consider participating in an ATV training course. Courses are already available on basic safety while tackling rough and hilly terrain, how to maintain ATVs properly and how to use them safely when fitted with implements and carrying loads, " she said.

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