The accident would have been worse if it was not for a crush protection device fitted on a quadbike he was riding.
He said the bars did their job, preventing the bike from completely rolling over after it went on its side.
‘‘If it hadn’t been for the bar, I don’t know how I would have come out of that rollover.’’
The close call happened on his farm of 1000 effective hectares running 8500 stock units just southeast of Milton.
Mr Davies said the device was fitted to one of his quadbikes used by younger workers, but the Safer Rides programme encouraged him to get another on a second quad.
‘‘I have only one staff member and generally, when I employ someone new, it’s a young person, often in their first job. We have a side-by-side, which has a cab with roll bars, and two quads and the Safer Rides offer provided me with the opportunity to get bars on a second quad. It gives me peace of mind to have them on both.’’
The Safer Rides initiative is led by Safer Farms with phase two offering farmers a 20% discount, saving up to $395, for certain crush protection device models or up to 15% off GPS rollover safety systems.
So far 23 farmers or workers have lost their lives in accidents since 2019 and about 70% of them could have been avoided.
Safer Farms director Lindy Nelson said more than 130 farm businesses had installed crush protection devices in phase one of the programme.
She said Safer Rides was being continued so more farmers could benefit as the numbers showed incentives encouraged them to make safety a priority.
‘‘Farmers told us that near-misses, accidents, hilly terrain and concerns for younger riders drove them to act.’’
The initiative backed by ACC is supported by rural companies.
Mr Davies said he would recommend other farmers get bars fitted to their quadbikes and side-by-side vehicles.
The subsidies and discounts for farmers were a strong incentive after earlier challenging financial years, he said.
Combined with seatbelts and helmets on farm bikes, they had given him greater confidence in his farm’s safety.
The devices did not hinder farm work and would be changed over to new bikes when they were upgraded, he said.
‘‘I even find the bars an advantage because they help hold stuff like fence posts in place.’’
