New State Government campaign to tackle quad bike safety
Published Sunday, 19 June, 2016 at 01:00 PM
Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations, Minister for Racing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs
The Honourable Grace Grace
Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace has launched a new public safety campaign in a bid to cut the number of quad bike deaths and injuries in Queensland.
Ms Grace said the new Ride ready campaign urges riders to always wear helmets and parents to keep their kids off adult sized bikes.
“Over the last 15 years, 70 people have been killed using quad bikes in Queensland,” Ms Grace said.
“There are around 300 quad bike related hospitalisations, 600 emergency department presentations and 200 ambulance attendances every year.
“These are amongst the highest figures in Australia and quite clearly, we need to ramp up our efforts to educate Queenslanders about quad bike safety.
“It doesn’t matter how you’re using a quad bike, you need to understand how dangerous these vehicles can be.”
Ms Grace said that adverts would kick off later this week on social media, and would be followed by a short film about a quad bike crash that came close to tragedy for the Cocco family from Atherton in Far North Queensland.
“Domenic Cocco was only seven years old when he nearly lost his life on a quad bike,” she said. “With no helmet to protect his head, his injuries came close to killing him.
“Fortunately, Domenic made a full recovery, but his parents know how close they came to losing him and they’re now passionate about quad bike safety.
“I believe this film will resonate with families all over Queensland.”
In March, Ms Grace launched the Statewide Plan for Improving Quad Bike Safety in Queensland.
The plan seeks to create a safety culture through education and awareness as the immediate first step toward improving safety outcomes for quad bike users and their passengers.
For more information, visit https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au
Media Contact: Martin Philip 0427 919 548