The findings were outlined after an 18-month Quad Bike Performance Project by New South Wales University’s transport and road safety unit which looked at the stability and crash-worthiness of side-by-side and quad bikes.
It recommended a consumer rating safety system for new vehicles, retrofitting protective devices for existing vehicles and user training.
The star safety rating would provide a guide for buyers on which vehicles represented a lower risk of rollover.
Researchers looked at the stability of 16 production quad bikes and side-by-side vehicles (SSV) and one prototype quad bike and found four of the five SSVs tested achieved four out of a possible five-star safety rating.
Two quad bikes achieved three stars and the rest two stars.
“The star rating system is intended to provide a safety rating in that vehicles with a higher star rating will represent a lower risk of rollover and subsequent potential injury in the event of a roll-over incident in the workplace environment based on the best current available information.”
Australian research finding
The study concluded quad bikes had lower rollover resistance compared to SSVs, a difference that was accentuated when even relatively small loads were carried on a quad.
Well-designed SSVs were also found to handle better and had lower risk of severe injury compared to quads when seat belts were used, helmets worn and safety equipment such as head and shoulder barriers was included.
On average five people were killed on quad bikes in New Zealand each year and 845 injured. In the last 10 years in Australia there were 130 deaths, of which 60% happened on farms.
Of 109 Australian fatalities investigated, researchers found 77, or 71%, were caused by roll-over incidents.
Efforts to lower that injury rate have focused on rider education but the researchers noted that under work, health and safety legislation quads were classified as mobile plant.
Under that legislation, engineering solutions were considered a more effective solution than training or personal protection such as helmets.
Researchers looked at engineering and design features of quad bikes to improve safety but concluded a star rating system was the best way of informing buyers and users of their safety.
“The star rating system is intended to provide a safety rating in that vehicles with a higher star rating will represent a lower risk of rollover and subsequent potential injury in the event of a roll-over incident in the workplace environment based on the best current available information.”
The researchers found quad-bars and lifeguard protection systems on quads prevented some severe injuries and riders from being pinned in low speed rollovers which were typical of farm incidents.
“They do not reduce the incidents of rollover.
“In some specific cases injury risk could be increased although there is currently no real world recorded evidence of this.”
Increasing the track width of quad bikes and modifying the driveline and suspension systems were seen as realistic and practical steps to reduce roll-over susceptibility and handling.
The researchers also found the handling characteristics and operating environment of quad bikes and SSVs was sufficiently different that all users should receive basic training and instruction, comparing it training required for hazardous chemicals.
The main cause of death for farm workers was chest injury (59%) while the main cause for recreational riders (49%) was head injury. Just 13% of farm workers were killed by a head injury. Helmets were worn on 22% of the 109 deaths the researchers investigated.
They found the dominant injury on farms was roll-over followed by being pinned, resulting in a crush injury or mechanical asphyxia, causing 70% of injuries.
Most of the incidents where people were pinned were from a quad bike on its side, not upside down.
Half farm fatalities were by mechanical asphyxia with 77% estimated to be survivable if the rider had not remained pinned.
Makers dispute research findings
THE motor industry says Australian research into quad bike safety was based on assumptions not reflective of the way the machines are used.
The absence of a correlation “with real world performance” made the recommendation by researchers of a star safety-rating system for quad bikes and side by side vehicles (SSVs) irrelevant Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford said.
Crawford said researchers’ testing was done with static machines to determine tipping points, ignoring the obvious fact they required active riding.
“With bikes and ATVs, part of the design criteria is that riders need to move around it for stability.”
Crawford said the MIA and its Australian counterpart, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, both felt their views and those held by manufacturers and other experts were ignored by the researchers, including information and findings collected from years of observation and feedback from users.
Safety ratings recommended for quad bikes and SSVs mimicked systems used in other industries but comparing the two machines was illogical because they were so different.
SSVs were effectively a small utility vehicle while quads did not have crash or roll bars as standard equipment.
The researchers found SSVs were less likely to roll than quads but Crawford cautioned about drawing such comparisons because their applications differed.
Many users of SSVs did not wear seatbelts or helmets, contrary to manufacturer’s guidelines, and risked potential injuries from hitting the roll bars in the event of an accident.
“If it rolls you are in a washing machine and horrendous injuries can result.
“The university was too simplistic in its judgement of risk and simplistic advice was the result.”
Crawford spent 22 years working for the Government, much of that in maritime and land transport safety, and said he would not recommend to his managers that New Zealand adopt the Australian researchers’ findings.
“It is not helpful.
“It is misleading.”
Used within manufacturers’ guidelines, quad bikes and SSVs had roles but the risk of accidents increased once used outside those guidelines.
MIA research showed the greatest cause of serious injury and fatalities in NZ from quad bikes was poor maintenance, incorrect loading, untrained users, overloading and inexperience.
Fatigue and impairment from alcohol or drugs were lesser factors.
Crawford said the MIA advocated all ATVs operate within manufacturers’ guidelines and safety practices such as wearing helmets, having users appropriately trained, no overloading, no passengers and they not be used under the influence of drugs or alcohol were followed.
Meanwhile, WorkSafe agriculture programme manager Al McCone welcomed the research but said his organisation was still reviewing its findings and conclusions.
He expected it to be useful in improving the safety performance of quad bikes and ATVs.
