Borders farm fined GBP 6,650 after employee died in quad bike crash

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has reminded employers of those using all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), (also known as quad bikes) at work of the importance of wearing a protective helmet, the provision of adequate training in the correct use of the vehicle and of ensuring the vehicle is well maintained.

The warning follows the death of a farm worker, Grant Shannon, 34 years, on 14 June 2007 when he was involved in an ATV accident while working at Kelloe Mains Farm, near Duns. Mr Shannon sustained fatal head injuries when he lost control of the quad bike and crashed into a tree. He was not wearing a helmet.

The owners of Kelloe Mains Farm, the partnership known as R & J McDonald, were fined £6,650 at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on June 5, 2009 after pleading guilty to charges under Section 2(1) and Section 33 (1) (a) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for "failure to provide and maintain plant (ATV) that was, so far as reasonably practicable, safe".

Mr Shannon had taken up employment on the farm as a dairy worker just three days before he died. The accident happened when he was told to use an ATV to assist another employee in moving cattle from one part of a field to another. The deceased had never driven an ATV before and had not received any formal training on how to do so. Mr Shannon was not wearing head protection and the quad bike was later found to have a number of defects, the most serious being incorrect tyre pressure which is critical for the safe operation of ATVs. Four worn tyres and ineffective rear brakes were also discovered.

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