Two-thirds of farmers are not wearing helmets on ATVs

Two-thirds of farmers do not wear a helmet when they ride ATVs, according to research from the University of Aberdeen.

Only a third of the 211 farmers quizzed from the UK and Ireland said they wore a helmet frequently or always, despite 63.5% saying they owned a helmet.

See also: Guide to keeping your farm ATV legal on the road

Not riding fast enough, being laughed at, feeling stupid or perceived as weak were reasons farmers gave for not wearing a helmet, in the study carried out by Dr Amy Irwin and Jana Mihulkova.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said head injuries are the most common cause of death in quad bike incidents, and the survey results have prompted fresh calls for farmers to always wear a helmet.

Approximately two people die and another 1,000 are injured in ATV incidents each year in the UK, the HSE said. There are an estimated 6,600 ATVs used on UK farms.

‘No brainer’

Tom Price, NFU farm safety and transport adviser, said it was a “no brainer”.

“Crash helmets are required whenever an ATV is used for work purposes, and the HSE will take enforcement action,” Mr Price said.

The university researchers said farmers who had completed ATV training were significantly more likely to report wearing a helmet than those who had not done any training.

“I suspected that a large part of the reasoning behind not wearing helmets would be a perception of low risk, related to factors such as a high level of experience riding quads, on the terrain commonly ridden on,” Dr Irwin said.

“I also expected that farming culture would have something to do with it, feeling that wearing a helmet is a sign of weakness and would make the wearer look silly in front of others.

“What I didn’t expect would be such a strong view in terms of helmets not being fit for purpose, and the suggestion from many farmers that a farming-specific helmet is needed.”

Farmers said helmet design restricted hearing and vision, and helmets were uncomfortable to wear.

A campaign to highlight which helmets are best suited to farm work, as well as more exposure of farmers wearing helmets on TV and social media, have been suggested to get more farmers using the protection.