i just found this and mabey the courts had something to do with it being closed down?
A POPULAR four-wheel-drive park where three people have been killed and 285 injured in three years will remain open despite the State Coroner finding it was "unreasonably dangerous".
Coroner Michael Barnes found activities at the Black Duck Valley park for four-wheel-drives and motorbikes, near Gatton, west of Brisbane, should be compared with other banned or heavily regulated high-risk sports, such as cage-fighting, duelling, base-jumping and boxing.
"These deaths were preventable and that the continued operation of Black Duck Valley in the manner in which it has been operating poses a danger to public health and safety and creates a risk of further deaths occurring in similar circumstances," Mr Barnes said.
"Alarmingly, Black Duck Valley does not engage in any effective risk management. The only risk the operators seem to have serious regard to is the risk of their being sued by requiring (users) to sign a waiver purporting to release the operators from all legal liability."
Mr Barnes said the deaths Ricky Blinco, 23, who was killed when his four-wheel-drive went over a cliff on an "unpassable" track and the 2005 deaths of Steven Binns, 28, who passed away while riding a quad bike and Michael Last, 34, who was killed in a motorbike accident were "not unforeseeable."
After the findings were delivered, Glenn Blinco, father of Ricky, said the park was a "death trap" and should be shut down until the problems were fixed.
"These are supposed to be places of fun, other parks are safe and if this place was the same Ricky would still be here," he said.
However, park manager (track maintenance and safety) Andrew Diete was unapologetic and said they took 'no responsibility' for the incidents."
However Mr Diete, who told the inquest the philospohical view of management was that riders used the park at their own risk, that the family-run business would "do all we can to remain part of the industry" despite believing that the injury rate was "acceptable".
Mr Barnes revealed the Toowoomba Hospital staff became so concerned about the frequency and seriousness of the trauma cases from the park that they started to collect statistics and found that between June 2005 and April this year 285 patients had required treatment and some injuries were life-threatening.
The Gatton ambulance station also rosters on extra weekend staff to "meet the demand" from the park, eight people required hospital treatment last weekend.
In 2005, the Gatton Shire Council advised the Division of Workplace Health and Safety to express its apprehension about the safety of the parks users' but "the division has not investigated any of the numerous injury accidents that have occurred at the park".
Mr Barnes found the park management did not check the riders competency and skill before allowing entry, had incorrect signage on dangerous tracks, the maintenance program was ad-hoc and did not provide sufficient instructions for riders to determine the risk factors involved.
He recommended that high-risk outdoor recreation facilities be included in the Intergrated Planning Act and the State Government order the businesses have continuing membership of industry bodies to gain accreditation and ensure public safety standards were met.
He recommended the DWHS review its determination that on-site injuries at Black Duck were "beyond its investigative jurisdiction" and that "as a matter of urgency" they undertake a full risk audit.
