Busting quad bike myths

It's widely assumed quad bikes first made an appearance in the 1970s, but in fact Royal Enfield built the first powered quadracycle as early as 1893. It resembled what we've come to know as a modern quad bike but was designed asahorseless carriage for road use. Today, Royal Enfield is the oldest motorcycle brand in the world still in production - in India.

 

It took the Japanese to duplicate and when Honda launched its first quad bike in 1970, the advertising byline asked 'what is it?' No need to question now because they're such a familiar part of the landscape yet there are still a surprising number of myths that have grown up around quad bike accidents and what causes them.

 

Part of the problem is a lack of awareness about whataquad bike is, and is not, capable of while another can be traced to hand-me-down training which is essentially flawed-learning to drive fromaparent and picking up ingrained bad habits in other words.

 

For the six year period between 2006 and 2012 and on a regional basis Waikato recorded the most deaths on a quad bike (seven) with Auckland and Northland second equal with four fatalities each. On a per capita basis it means Northland doesn't fare well by comparison.

 

The presumption that speed kills-which is the hammered-home road safety message for cars-doesn't necessarily apply to quad bikes. Excessive speed is only one factor causing death or injury. According to the Department of Business Innovation and Employment (DBIE) serious accidents can occur at walking pace and can be caused by an unbalanced load or the unbalancing of the bike on an uneven surface which, of course,

describes the terrain on just about every farm in New Zealand and pretty much all our beaches.

 

The average bike weighs around 270 kilograms and there's little chance of escape if it tips over, no matter what speed. When things go wrong, they can go very wrong but it's not as if training isn't available. Honda, for instance, offer free training to everyone who buysa quad bike and yet Andrew Archibald from Kaitaia says he's never known

anyone to take up this offer in the time he's been selling the things.

 

On average 850 people are injured riding quad bikes on farms each year and five people die. One Wellington coroner investigating the death of a farm worker on a quad bike a couple of years ago recommended seat belts be fitted. It generated howls of protest from the farming community who argued, with reason, that seat belts would pin a hapless rider to the bike and that jumping off affords the best chance to escape injury.

 

Still, the quad bike remains the quintessential handy farm tool. To brush up on quad bike knowledge farmers can put themselves and their workers through The Department of Labour quad bike rider competency assessment check list to assess their own abilities and that of their employees andNZQAhas information on quad bike training providers throughout the country on their website.