Calling quad bikes and side-by-sides "All Terrain Vehicles" is misleading, Farmsafe Australia Chairman Charlie Armstrong says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Speaking after the death of a child, who was driving a side-by-side, at Meroo Meadow on Monday, June 10, Mr Armstrong said Farmsafe was pushing manufacturers to make a number of safety improvements to the "extremely useful", but dangerous, machines.
"As far as the manufacturers are concerned, side-by-sides and quad bikes are both ATVs," he said.
"But they're not suitable for all terrain, so we're trying to get rid of that term."
Most fatalities on quad bikes were due to asphyxiation, after the bike rolled and trapped the rider underneath, Mr Armstrong said.
"The side-by-sides are supposed to be more stable, because they are wider," he said.
"They also have a cage and seat belts - the problem we have is that people aren't using the seat belts.
"If we could get everyone to wear a helmet, retrofit a crash device, and not allow children on them, it would go a long way towards reducing fatalities."
Farmsafe has backed calls from the ACCC for quad bike manufacturers to fit rollover devices on all new quads sold - and Mr Armstrong said the group was not concerned about manufacturers' threats to pull out of Australia.
"We are desperately waiting for a decision from the minister in the relation to the ACCC recommendations which we wholeheartedly support," he said.
"Yamaha and Honda have said that [they would pull out], but the others haven't - there's still four or five other manufacturers who have not made that threat.
"We're not terribly perturbed by that threat. If they can't make their models safer, then perhaps we're better of without them."
Ten people have died in quad-bike accidents in 2019, five of them children ten or under.
Families after a vehicle for children to ride on the farm would be best to choose a motorbike, Mr Armstrong said.
It is important to select an appropriately-size two-wheel bike for the child, and ensure they wear a helmet at all times.
"We have almost no fatalities with two-wheel motorbikes," he said.
"There are probably more cases of broken arms and broken legs, but nothing as serious.
"An appropriately sized two wheel bike with a helmet seems to be safer."