He said we were fortunate not to have any fatalities in this area lately, but there were five quad bike fatalities this year and 22 last year, and the state government seems to be dragging its feet on the matter.

When the NSW Coroner released findings into the deaths of 13 people in NSW from quad bike accidents in November 2015, more action and research on the nature of quad bike rollovers and ways to prevent more deaths was called for, including the development an improved, standardised nationally accredited training package and a media campaign to increase awareness of the risks involved.

Mr Strang thinks both incentives are needed.

“I think you’re always going to have the problem that people say ‘oh no, it doesn’t happen to me, I know what I’m doing’, without taking the time to listen to safety experts, or experienced people who can tell them from experience how easy it is to have an accident,” Mr Strang said.

“But if the right education and did an evaluation of the risks each time they popped in the thing, did a safety check all around it, you’ve got to consider how you are yourself. I consider those sorts of things have got to be taken into consideration with a quad.”

The state government was required to report on the findings within six months and has drawn fire from the Opposition for failing to do so.

Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall said it was an issue that had certainly been raised in the electorate and he had taken the matter up with the Minister.

“We do need a comprehensive plan providing rebates for farmers to increase safety on existing quad bikes, as well as potentially allowing them to trade in their old quad bikes for new,” he said.

Mr Marshall agreed with Mr Strang that quad bikes used by people without the appropriate training could be quite dangerous, as proved by the fact that there had been about 200 deaths over the last 10 years from quad related accidents.

“I would like to see a big safety program put in place at a reduced rate for farmers and their employees,” he said.