Calls for stronger regulation after Coroner’s quad bike warning

The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is calling on the NSW Government to act swiftly on recommendations handed down by a NSW coronial inquest into quad bike deaths – with tourism operators likely to be impacted by any changes in Australian law.

NSW Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund examined the deaths of nine people aged seven to 68 years of age between February 2009 and January 2015, three of whom were children.

In her report, Coroner Freund has recommended that a safety rating system be introduced for the vehicles, along with mandatory licences, helmets and seatbelts.

With a recent inquest in Queensland recommending that children under the age of 16 be banned from riding Quad Bikes, new legislation may well see children under 16 banned from riding quad bikes.

RACS Trauma Committee Chair John Crozier says major trauma injuries from quad bikes have been on the rise across Australia, from 26 in 2010 to 51 in 2012.

Crozier explained “for each quad bike fatality, there are an additional 40 hospital admissions and 40 other non-hospitalised Emergency Department presentations.

“We are particularly concerned about the number of injuries and fatalities among children,” Dr Crozier said.

“The children’s deaths examined as part of this inquest showed that all three were riding adult-sized quad bikes, some with pillion passengers, which is a breach of manufacturer guidelines.

“Quad bikes are inherently unstable and leave very little room for rider error.

“Children, who are often more inexperienced and careless than older riders, can end up dead or disabled as a result.

“The penalty for a quad bike rider who makes a careless judgement, or lacks a necessary skill, or has insufficient body weight or physical strength, all of which are more likely in younger riders, should not be death or serious injury.

“RACS urges the NSW Government to consider all available strategies to prohibit children under the age of 16 from riding adult quad bikes.”

Research shows that most injuries and deaths involve the bike rolling onto the rider and can occur at low speeds.

Crozier added “Safe Work NSW needs support to implement a quad bike safety rating, which would empower customers to choose the safest machines available.

“Similar recommendations were announced following recent coronial inquests in Victoria and Queensland, and Safe Work NSW is well-placed to develop a star-rating system that other jurisdictions could adopt.

“RACS also encourages the Government to consider incentives for quad bike owners to undertake training before use of quad bikes to minimise the unique serious hazards they pose for even otherwise very experienced motor vehicle operators, but in particular, for those people who have never ridden one.”

One place the bikes are used is Stockton Beach near Newcastle, renowned for its giant sand dunes.

Said to be the largest moving sand mass in the southern hemisphere, Quad bike sand safaris are a popular visitor activity that could be impacted by any legislative changes.

Quad Bike King operator Giles Donovan believes coroner’s recommendations could have big ramifications for operations such as his.

Donovan told the ABC that his tours, which allow children from eight years old to participate, are always speed controlled and highly supervised over a safe course.

Explaining that the tourism industry already has tough voluntary standards, Donovan told the ABC “obviously we’re already using helmets.

“If we have to put to put seatbelts on we’ll put seatbelts on, we’re actually looking at roll bars already for bikes to help support better safety records.

“We will follow the recommendations, but I would point out that historically the tourism industry has never suffered any substantial injuries in any way.”

Donovan argued for children to be able to use smaller quad bikes in highly supervised and speed-controlled situations.

Quad bike image used for illustrative purposes only. Image courtesy of Facebook.

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