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Quad bike safety inquiry sparks heated debate

Posted on December 30, 2011

By BEN PISCIONERI

DEBATE is once again raging over the merits of roll-over protection for quad bikes in the wake of ongoing concerns over the vehicles’ safety.

Hundreds of quad bikes are used throughout Sunraysia every day as a valuable tool on many horticulture properties, however deaths involving quad bikes in other areas of Victoria have prompted calls by both the Australian Workers Union and workplace safety authorities for action to improve safety.

While there appears consensus on moves to increase safety on quad bikes, the use of roll-over protection remains a hot topic.

The AWU announced its intention in May this year to ban the use of all quad bikes without roll-over protection – the ban would only apply to workers who came under AWU jurisdiction.

Earlier this year, the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety wrote to hundreds of motorcycle dealers warning they could be liable if they continued to sell quad bikes without roll-over protection.

It was a move vehemently opposed by Sunraysia’s motorcycle dealers, some of whom said roll-over protection devices would cause more injuries than they would prevent in the event of a crash.

Others said it would be impractical in farming environments, particularly in areas such as Sunraysia, which is generally flat, with lower risks of tipping a quad bike.

One dealer said she was concerned about the risk of litigation if dealers sold quad bikes with roll-over protection fitted at dealerships, rather than by the bike manufacturer.

Sunraysia’s dealers almost universally pointed to better rider education as a way of increasing quad bike safety.

In the latest development, an independent review into crush protection devices has been announced in Queensland – the first review of its type in Australia.

Despite the announcement, the motorcycle industry and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries remains opposed to roll-over protection, maintaining they pose a significant injury risk.

Opposition to roll-over protection even led to a concerted advertising campaign earlier this year, warning the public of the dangers of roll-over protection, stating “Warning! Roll over protection devices cause more harm than good,” among other slogans.

John Lambert, an engineer and director of John Lambert and Associates, has been a strong advocate for roll-over protection and slammed the advertising campaign.

Mr Lambert said quad bike manufacturers needed to redesign their bikes to ensure people “significantly” younger than 16 could not operate full-sized bikes.

He also said manufacturers should ensure saddles and cargo racks could not be used to carry passengers and called on them to supply bikes fitted with crush protection devices.

The ACAHS earlier this month refuted claims roll-over protection devices caused more problems than they would solve.

ACAHS director, Dr Tony Lower, said the quad bike industry’s own data on the effectiveness of crush protection devices illustrated a “protective benefit” of up to 29 percent for the one commercially available crush protection device in Australia.

Mr Lower said at least 23 people had been killed on quad bikes this year.

One of the big questions if roll-over protection does become mandatory is will the hundreds of existing quad bikes need to be retrofitted with the devices, and if so, who will pay for them?

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