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Last quad bikes leave Pāmu farms

31 January 2024

Health, safety, and well-being are at the heart of how we operate at Pāmu. The most important thing is that all our people get home safely every night. 

As of December 2023 Pāmu has replaced all company quad bikes on every farm across the country. This is the culmination of our focus on health and safety after we tragically lost three of our people in six months in on-farm vehicle accidents in 2017.

While not without costs, removing quads from a peak of 440 nationwide is a major milestone in our health and safety journey. 

This strategic shift was driven by the need for better stability on hill country and the incorporation of roll-over protection measures to reduce potential harm. 

With multiple fatalities in New Zealand on quadbikes every year it’s a stark reminder of the immense cost for families, businesses and communities when using high-risk tools.

Across New Zealand, Worksafe has found most fatalities on farms are related to vehicle use.

Our research on the safest alternatives to quad bikes has led us to two-wheelers for dairy farms, and side-by-side off-roaders on livestock farms. Station horses are also making a comeback on some hill country farms.