How many deaths will it take before a quad bike ban for kids?

Coroners, surgeons call for changes in Tasmania and further afield, says Andrew Wilkie

AS our children enter the summer school holidays we need to remember that in one tragic week last month two people died in all-terrain vehicle accidents in our state. No wonder a Tasmanian coroner has called quad bikes the biggest killer on farms.

In the first half of this year, there was seven quad-bike fatalities in Australia, including two children. One of the children killed was seven, the other was nine. Clearly quad bikes are dangerous and governments need to do a better job of regulating them.

When a product is dangerous, regulators must either ban it or impose measures to make it safer. Just as seatbelt and drink-driving laws made driving safer, we need laws to make operating a quad bike safer.

The Federal Government has announced a new safety standard for quad bikes which includes improved consumer information, enhanced stability and rollover protection to reduce injuries and deaths. Within 12 months, all new quad bikes will need labels to warn of the degree of slope they will start to overturn. And within 24 months, all new quad bikes must have a rollover bar or operator-protection device and will need to conform to a minimum-stability-standard on slopes. This is important because about 60 per cent of quad bike fatalities are caused by rollovers, where riders die from asphyxiation, crush or head injuries. Research shows many riders would have survived had they not been crushed or pinned down in the crash. But as welcome as this reform is, we must go further.

In Tasmania, legislation to cover the use of quad bikes on private property is patchy. Quad bikes used only on private property do not need to be registered and off-road operators do not need a valid driver’s licence. If the quad bike is used for work, managers must comply with workplace, health and safety laws and ensure the vehicle is safe. However, almost half of quad bike deaths are not work-related and the majority are on private land. Alarmingly, there is nothing to stop children riding, despite the simple fact that kids and quad bikes don’t mix. This is why the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons has called for a ban on quad bikes for all children under 16 because, to quote a well-regarded paediatric surgeon, kids lack the cognitive ability and physical strength and size. To stay stable on difficult terrain, a rider has to shift their body weight which is simply beyond the physical capacity of some riders, especially older people and children.

Surgeons aren’t the only ones wanting kids off quad

bikes. In 2017, Tasmanian Coroner Simon Cooper called for a ban on young children riding quad bikes after investigating seven deaths on the vehicles in just three years. He said the use of quad bikes should be of general concern to society and recommended mandatory training and banning children under six. Mr Cooper recommended children between 6 and 16 be restricted to youth-sized bikes.

The jury is out on whether kids are safe on smaller bikes.

The experience in the US tells us rider-protection laws work. In 2010, Massachusetts introduced the US’s first absolute age restriction for offroad vehicles including quad bikes. Sean’s Law – in memory of the eight-year-old boy whose death following quad bike trauma prompted the legislation – bans under 14s from using quad bikes on public and private land. Older children must go through mandatory training and have adult supervision. Helmets are mandatory for all. Since the introduction of Sean’s Law, there has been a significant decline in injuries and deaths.

The evidence is clear. Quad bikes are a major cause of death and serious injury to children on farms. The Work Safe Tasmania website acknowledges children are at greater risk of serious inquiry and death while operating quads, and even youth-sized bikes pose a significant risk of death. Yes the Tasmanian Government has recently introduced a safety rebate scheme to help farmers with the cost of fitting rolloverprotection devices to quad bikes. However this won’t stop children from riding and risking death. In the eight years to last December, there were 128 quad bike fatalities in Australia, 14 of children 11 or under.

How many more fatalities are needed before Tasmania introduces age restrictions and bans young kids from these death traps? Adults can calculate risk, kids can’t.