The nearest of misses

Well, my friends, a few weeks ago, one Friday evening, I had a near miss that stopped me in my tracks – and almost did a lot worse than that. I decided to do a bit of tidying around the garden and the yard – cutting branches, clearing leaves – a bit of a spring clean after the winter. I pulled out the quad, checked it over, filled it up, and attached the trailer, and off I went about my business. After I had filled the trailer, I headed to an area down the field where I usually deposit cuttings. I put them near a section of the bank of a river to create bug hotels and cover for wildlife.
As I was turning the quad, to empty the trailer, the vehicle somehow lunged forwards and sideways at speed, and me and the quad ended up falling down a four-foot drop into the river, which was about three feet deep at the point of entry. I ended up in the water with the quad on top of me, trapping me. I was completely submerged; the weight of the quad and the trailer worked against me, pushing me back down as I tried to escape. Then, I realised that my foot was trapped and, in a state of desperation and panic, I was prepared to break my ankle in an attempt to free it, when, luckily, my shoe slipped off my foot and I was able to get free. Pure luck! I got out of the freezing water as fast as I could and crawled up the bank.
I then walked the short distance back to the yard, got a hammer, went back down to the river, freed the trailer from the quad and managed to turn the bike upright – I was concerned about the electrics and keeping them as dry as possible. I was in total shock. I went home. It was only later that night that it dawned on me what had actually happened.
The next morning, I phoned a good friend. I told him what had happened, and I asked if he could bring down the tractor and loader so we could get the quad out of the water. I could tell by him that he wasn’t in good form. He told me that a farmer who we all new well had died in a farm accident just the night before. Another good friend of mine was at the farm at the time of the accident, doing a contracting job. It was so unsettling. I was calling them for help after my accident, but they were dealing with the worst possible outcome of another farming accident – the loss of a life. It was a terrible moment to learn about this tragedy. I was just shocked to think that these two accidents occurred almost at the same time and while I had a lucky escape, my neighbour, tragically, had not been so lucky.
Last month, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) carried out a national farm safety inspection campaign focusing on the safe use of tractors, machinery, quad bikes, and other work vehicles on farms. Over the last 10 years, 73 people have died in vehicle-related incidents. According to data from Teagasc’s national farm survey, about 4,500 farm accidents occur every year, but we all know many farm accidents happen that are never reported. It is a serious, serious issue. I am lucky to be here today to share my story.
A dear friend of mine, long since passed, the great Moss Keane, former Irish and Lions rugby player, used to say ‘accidents are caused, they don’t happen’. I will leave it for you to decide if he is right. I have worked with quads for many years and in the space of seven months, I have had two incidents involving them, with the latest proving almost fatal. On both occasions, I think there was a slight lapse of concentration on my part. I have done a quad safety course, but there is no getting away from the fact that human error occurs, and these powerful machines must be respected. They are not toys, and they can cause great and grave damage. 

Until next month, farm safely, farm wisely.