Supreme Court proceedings issued by Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and other quad bike manufacturers against WorkSafe Victoria were dismissed just prior to a trial that was listed to commence yesterday.

According to WorkSafe Victoria, the manufacturers wanted the Supreme Court to rule that WorkSafe’s public announcements about quad bike safety were unlawful.

The challenge was dismissed and will not proceed to trial.

“WorkSafe was always confident that its public announcements were lawful and appropriate, so having this case dismissed is very pleasing,” WorkSafe executive director health and safety, Marnie Williams, said.

“As we have always said, suitably designed and tested rollover protection devices on quad bikes are a means of reducing the risk to operators in the event of a rollover.

“The use of rollover protection devices on quad bikes will save lives and we will continue to promote this safety message.”

The manufacturers accepted WorkSafe’s offer to make some minor amendments to the language in its public statements that clarified its position and agreed to the Supreme Court claim being dismissed.

“The changes we have agreed to in our statements were minimal and do not hinder in any way our new approach to quad bike safety, or our powers of enforcement,” Ms Williams said.

Ms Williams said the agency had continued to explain its revised safety strategy to employer groups and industry stakeholders across Victoria.

“Our new approach will save lives, but we want to make sure that everyone understands our strategy and has time to comply before we consider taking enforcement action, such as the issuing of improvement notices,” Ms Williams said.

WorkSafe Victoria will continue to offer rebates of up to $600 for the purchase of a rollover protection device for a quad bike or up to $1200 for the purchase of a more appropriate vehicle such as a side-by-side vehicle or a small utility vehicle.

Source: WorkSafe Victoria