By Rowena Duncum
You may recall, in November, I revisited my experience rolling a quad bike on farm.
It seemed like the perfect time to offer some safety tips – you know, heading into summer and all. It’s a season usually synonymous with long days out spraying and mustering; racing to get work done so you can head to the lake or beach with the family.
Now, at this point, if you feel the need to blame me for Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle hitting the country, go right ahead. It could easily be viewed as one of the biggest cases of commentator’s curse ever recorded.
Believe me, I’m sorry. In 2023 I will be better. But enough about me.
The challenges that come with cyclones are well documented and our thoughts are very much with those dealing with ongoing clean-ups. Hats off to all the volunteers and the likes of the Rural Support Trust, regional Federated Farmers teams and other organisations who are doing phenomenal work ensuring those affected are well supported.
But there’s a new set of challenges in the aftermath of extensive and extended bad weather that I overlooked in November. For obvious reasons.
To recap: data supplied to The Country by FMG - who, over a 5-year period, had over $12.5m claims for quad bikes - shows that quad bike rollovers increase over summer. On average, FMG receives a claim for a quad rollover or accident every day. Of those claims, 15 per cent of rollovers had wet or slippery ground as a contributing factor.
That’s quite a significant amount. So, given the amount of rain that’s fallen in the North recently, it’s important to ensure your entire farming team, especially newer employees, are extra careful with the ongoing greasy ground, when driving quads and other farm vehicles.
Some of the rainfall amounts recorded have broken records, meaning conditions are unprecedented for this time of the year. It’s not safe to just keep “doing what you’ve always done”.
In the South, it’s the reverse – with extra dry, hard ground. For both extremes, it’s vitally important to check tyre pressure regularly with a tyre gauge. Uneven tyre pressure or a slightly “off” bike, is exacerbated when combined with either greasy slopes up north or rock-hard bumps down south. Both conditions can so easily lead to injury or accident.
You’ll find the recommended pressure values on the sticker you probably never look too closely at (hint: it’s usually in front of the rear wheel, below the seat, or inside the door, depending on which vehicle you’re driving).
Then there are the issues that even experienced farmers can easily miss. While it might seem like common sense, friends of mine recently went on a mammoth vehicle rescue mission on New Year’s Eve, after their new worker overlooked the importance of the oil gauge rising. I kid you not.
As not everyone has the same level of experience, a conversation with employees will never go amiss; teaching them to carry out a TCLOC pre-ride checks (Tyres, Chassis, Lights, Oils and Controls) is the best way to ensure no one will ever hop onto an unsafe vehicle.
Finally, in the aftermath of cyclones Hale and Gabrielle, a lot of farmers will be checking fences, stock and crops over their entire property to assess the damage.
We all know it’s easy to focus on that damage, rather than the ground in front of you.
As 60 per cent of roll overs happen on hilly slopes, take it easy out there, and stay aware of your surroundings.
For those dealing with the aftermath, all the best. We’re thinking of you.
For more information: www.fmg.co.nz/ or call 0800 366 466