ONLY one in 10 Victorian farmers wears a helmet while riding their ATV.
The numbers are even worse for dairy farmers, among which it is one in 20.
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Victorian Farmers Federation president Peter Tuohey said the numbers were not surprising but deeply worrying.
"We've tried to design a better helmet, but in the end they refuse to wear them," Mr Tuohey said. "Obviously we need to change this around and perhaps that's where more training on ATVs is needed."
Victorian farmers volunteered their non-helmet habits to a National Centre for Farmer Health survey conducted over several years.
Coroners and police say wearing a helmet would have saved lives.
Farmers say they find helmets either hot, uncomfortable, sound dulling but mostly annoying, when they are on and off their workhorse dozens of times each day.
Some police admitted to being confused about the legalities of wearing helmets.
VicRoads recommends the wearing of an approved helmet on private property but it is not mandatory.
A helmet must be worn when an ATV is being used on public roads, where there are also restrictions on how and where they can be ridden.
WorkSafe Victoria said people using ATVs were "required to be properly trained and wear helmets".
