ATV safety is in your hands

In recent years, the number of serious work-related accidents involving ATVs have caused great concern. Non-fatal accidents are not well reported, but are estimated to amount to over 1,000 serious injuries per year in the UK and Ireland, according to the HSA. The causes of these accidents are usually one or more of the following:

Training

The first and most critical thing before attempting to operate any ATV is training. Professional training is vital and is also a legal requirement under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Under this act, an employer must provide adequate instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to the health and safety of their employees.

The employer must also provide adequate training and ensure that ATVs are only operated by employees who have received the appropriate training on their safe use, including the use of any towed equipment or attachments. The same requirements also apply to self-employed people such as farmers. In addition, under the General Application Amendment Regulations 2001, employees must have at their disposal adequate information and written instruction.

Personal protective equipment

The HSA claims that more than half of all ATV riders have been thrown off at some time as there is no cab or roll bar. It is therefore vital that you are wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) as that is your only protection in the event of an accident.

The appropriate PPE includes:

Passengers

Never carry a passenger on an ATV. The long seat on an ATV is to allow the rider to shift their body weight backwards and forwards for different slope conditions and not for carrying passengers. You should also never carry a passenger in a trailer behind an ATV, as any movement can make the ATV unstable, especially at speed.

Operation

Most ATVs have no differential and are fitted with a solid rear axle. This means that when you turn, the ATV tries to keep going in a straight line. When cornering on an ATV with no differential or with the differential engaged, your body weight needs to be positioned according to how sharp the corner is and on how fast you are going.

For slow cornering, you should put your body weight on the footrest on the outside of the turn, while leaning your upper body into the turn. This will allow the inside driving wheel to skid slightly, allowing the ATV to make the turn properly.

At faster turning speeds, the need for weight transfer to the outside of the turn decreases.

If your ATV has a differential and it is disengaged, when cornering, weight should be transferred to the inside of the turn.

Towing and load carrying

Most modern ATVs are designed for towing trailers and weights along with being fitted with steel racks and various attachments in order to move and carry loads. It is important that all riders know the manufacturer’s recommended towing capacity and drawbar loading limit. You must always operate within these requirements and remember that your ability to control the ATV by your body movements will be considerably reduced when carrying a load or towing a trailer.

When selecting trailed equipment look out for:

Check the weight ratio between your ATV and its trailed load. This needs to be assessed for each operation. As a general guide, on level ground, braked trailed equipment can be a maximum of four times the unladen weight of the ATV. For unbraked trailed equipment, the maximum should be twice the unladen weight. These loads should be reduced when working on slopes, uneven ground or poor surface conditions.

Weight transfer is also important. Stability and resistance to jack-knifing is improved if some load is transferred on to the ATVs drawbar.

Gross weight

Approximately 10% of the gross weight of the loaded trailer is recommended, but this should not exceed the manufacturer’s drawbar loading limit. Remember that weight transfer can change dramatically when you start going up or downhill.

When selecting mounted equipment, make sure it is within the manufacturer’s approved weight limit, with a low centre of gravity, and has controls which are easy to operate but do not create a hazard. Where equipment is added to one end of the machine, add ballast at the other end to maintain stability.

Loads carried on racks must be well secured, eg with ratchet straps, and be evenly balanced between the front and rear, except where they are deliberately altered to aid stability when going up or down a slope. Only tow a load from the hitch point. Loads towed from other points such as the rear rack can cause sudden rear overturning even on slight slopes or with slight acceleration. Ropes or chains should not be used to drag a load where they can become caught on a wheel. This may lead to entanglement with the brake cable, causing unexpected braking.

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