Surgeons Call For Quad Bike Ban For Kids

It’s been a tragic week for quad bike deaths in Australia, after two people were killed over a single weekend in NSW.

One of them was a child, another in a line of children killed by quad bikes in recent years.

On Sunday a 60-year-old man was killed in Sofala, in NSW central west after rolling his quad bike on a farm. He died at the scene. On the same day, a six-year-old girl died in northwest NSW after crashing a quad bike into a tree on a private property.

The girl was apparently riding the quad bike with two other children, both 13-year-old girls, who were also injured. The girl’s death is one of many in the past few months. In January another youngster, this time a seven-year-old boy, also died on a farm after the quad bike he was riding flipped and fell on top of him. He was also riding with a nine-year-old friend.

The deaths were just a small number of the 200 people who have died in quad bike related accidents since 2001.

Now the Royal Australian College of Surgeons is speaking out. These health professionals say that both of the children’s deaths could have been prevented if more restrictions were in place surrounding children and quad bikes. The surgeons believe that imposing restrictions is a must, and that it reflects just how dangerous quad bikes can be.

The suggested restrictions include banning the riding of quad bikes to children under 16, a restriction also suggested by a NSW coroner. Their recommendation is backed up by statistics, which show a strong link between the severity of injury in a quad bike accident, and the weight of the victim.

From The Experts

Tauma committee chair Dr John Crozier didn’t mince his words in a statement on Tuesday: “Quad bikes are not toys. They leave very little room for rider error – a lack of judgment, a lack of skill, or even a lack of body mass and physical strength can result in death or serious injury.”

Now NSW Labor has written to the government to urge them to bring together farmers, quad bike manufacturers and safety experts for a summit. The National Farmers Federation has backed the issue, saying it is one there needs to be more of a focus on.

Sarah McKinnon, the workplace relations general manager, spoke to AAP on Tuesday:

“Enough is enough. We are past the point of talking about this.”

She believes the federal government could do more, and that there needs to be changes to quad bike restrictions that are reflected on a national scale, to curb the recent trend in deaths.

A Possible Solution

For some time now the National Farmers Federation has been pushing for a new five-star rating system to be implemented to new quad bikes. They believe that the system will allow farmers to get a better understanding of the potential risk the vehicles pose.

However, at this point no forward movement has been made by the government to implement such a system, although clearly there needs to be more done to protect kids and educate parents about the dangers of quad bikes.