INCREASING safety on public roads and farms is the focus of two separate projects being undertaken in North Queensland.
James Cook University researchers are calling on the public to help them find ways to improve road safety by minimising accidents involving large agricultural vehicles.
Meanwhile, the National Farmers Federation has called on landowners to have their say on proposed quad-bike regulations in a bid to reduce on farm fatalities.
JCU Associate Professor Richard Franklin said Australian accident data was patchy and incomplete when it came to crashes involving large agricultural vehicles and trailers.
However, he said over the past decade there had been at least 577 crashes recorded involving agricultural vehicles, resulting in 24 fatalities and 278 injuries.
Dr Franklin said these figures illustrated that the presence of agricultural vehicles on roads may raise a unique set of safety concerns.
“We’re going to explore the nature of incidents that involve large, slow-moving agricultural vehicles, we’ll also be looking at people’s attitudes and awareness to them and what they think about road sharing and road safety,” Dr Franklin said.
He said previous studies suggested the most common crash types of large agricultural vehicles involved them running off the road, being rear ended, or hit during overtaking maneuvers.
“It’s not clear why this is. While the length and width of a large vehicle may be a factor in them being hit as they are being overtaken, speed differentials may have been a factor, particularly in the rear-end crashes,” he said.
Dr Franklin said it was likely the future would see even larger agricultural vehicles on roads, driven by the need for greater efficiency and productivity.
“Our overall aim is to improve the safety of all road users,” he said.
The research is being funded by National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and The National Farmers’ Federation.
The survey will remain open until Sunday, April 15.
It comes after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a consultation paper outlining a number of different regulatory options to improve the safety of quad bike operation.
These include applying a mandatory safety standard to quad bikes and side-by-side vehicles (SSVs) – akin to a ‘safety star’ rating; additional warnings on vehicles highlighting rider risks; the requirement to fit operator protection devices and mandatory performance tests for mechanical suspension, stability and dynamic handling.
NFF President Fiona Simson said quad bikes remained the leading cause of death on Australian farms.
“Quad bikes are a staple piece of equipment for most farming operations,” Ms Simson said.
“But, as we’ve seen, time and time again, if not operated correctly and in line with operation and safety guidelines, tragedy can result.
"Since January 1, 2011, 114 people have died in quad bike-related incidents.
“Too often we’re seeing children riding quad bikes and passengers and in appropriate loads being carried – which place quad bikes a great risk of roll-over."
Ms Simson said the NFF believed rider education, regulation and manufacturer changes were the keys to saving lives from quad bike incidents.
Farmers have until May 4 to have their say on proposed changes to quad bike safety regulation.