Global quad bike safety experts meet in Sydney

Thirty of the world’s leading experts in quad bike safety will assemble in Sydney this week as part of a project to improve quad bike safety.

The $1 million quad bike crash performance research, testing and design project is being undertaken by the Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (HWSA), the body representing Australasia’s work health and safety regulators.

The NSW-funded research is being conducted at the University of NSW’s Transport and Road Safety research facilities as part of a National Quad Bike Safety Strategy examining design features to improve vehicle safety as well as protective devices and accessories.

This week’s meeting will involve members of the project’s reference group receiving an update on the project’s status as well as a tour of the Crashlab where the vehicles will be tested.

John Watson, Chair of the Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (HWSA), said the meeting was an opportunity to get the input from the safety experts on quad bikes.

“Researchers, regulators, manufacturers and the farming community acknowledge that we need to work together to improve quad bike safety,” Watson said.

“With more than 150 Australians dead from quad bike incidents since 2000 and almost 9 out of 10 rollover deaths occurring on farms, the project involves a series of crash tests to identify engineering and design enhancements which could improve quad bike safety.

“By bringing the project reference group together, we can ensure we are conducting the most effective crash tests according to common incident types.

“Based on the results of the tests, this will enable us to determine whether safety enhancements and improvements to protective devices and accessories are necessary.”

Raphael Grzebieta, Professor of Road Safety at UNSW, said his team had been involved with quad bike safety for more than a decade. As part of the research, testing will be undertaken using a specially designed tilt-table installed at the NSW Government Crashlab facility to determine the propensity of the quads to roll over and determine severe injury risk.

“This project is a great opportunity to advance the safety of these vehicles, which are potentially hazardous for farmers and others,” Prof Grzebieta said.

HWSA established a trans-Tasman quad bike industry working group comprised of work health and safety regulators from Australia and New Zealand plus manufacturers, unions, automotive associations and farming associations to implement a National Quad Bike Safety Strategy aimed at identifying safety improvements for the quad bike and farm industries to reduce fatalities and injuries. This group developed a broad strategy to address the range of issues impacting quad bike safety.

Since the commencement of the strategy, a number of measures have been implemented including the piloting of a nationally recognised rider training course for farmers, mandatory wearing of Australia New Zealand standard-approved helmets and improved point-of-sale material to help farmers purchase the best vehicle for their needs.