Arm amputation follows quad bike collision
A quad bike collision with a mechanical pruner has led to the partial amputation of a Queensland worker’s arm.
According to a Workplace Health and Safety Queensland incident report, this incident took place in August 2018.
The incident report said one worker was operating a mechanical pruner attached to the front of a tractor to prune the bottom branches from macadamia trees, while another worker was operating a quad bike nearby.
The quad bike and its operator contacted the pruner resulting in a partial arm amputation. Investigations are continuing.
The report said that this incident occurred just two weeks after another fatal incident on a rural property at Murray Upper, where a property owner on a quad bike collided with the back of a stationary trailer. He then managed to walk approximately 150 m to a tractor and start driving it, but lost control and drove it down an embankment covered with long grass. He was found on the ground on the left-hand side of the tractor with fatal injuries. Investigations are continuing.
According to the incident report, quad bikes have become very popular farm vehicles in recent years, due to their adaptability, low running cost and easy operation. Safe operation of quad bikes is essential in all situations, or they can be very dangerous.
On steep terrain or when driven at speed, quad bikes can be very unstable due to their light weight and high centre of gravity. This is made worse by a tendency to overload them and fit inappropriate attachments.
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