Quad bike death rate 'unacceptable'

Emergency services at the scene of a farm quad bike accident north of Whangamata last year.

Wellington coroner Brigitte Windley has called on the government to do more to address New Zealand's "unacceptably high" rate of quad bike deaths and serious injuries.

Coroner Windley issued a number of recommendations to improve quad bike safety and address a "persistent concern" in the course of her inquest into the death of a 56-year-old Clutha farmer in 2014, echoing a series of findings issued by deputy Chief Coroner Brandt Shortland in 2013.

The use of attached implements or equipment, and the trapping of the rider under the bike, were common features in those deaths.

"Despite the public attention quad bike deaths have received, and the ongoing work done by government agencies such as WorkSafe and ACC, with input and support from industry organisations, quad bike deaths were reported to have reached a record high in 2016," Ms Windley said in her finding.

The quest for safer design and use of quad bikes was not new or unique to New Zealand, and research that found quad bike fatality patterns in Australia and New Zealand to be broadly similar.

She acknowledged Roll Over Protection (ROP) devices as a controversial issue in quad bike safety, but identified compelling Australian research providing the first ever in-field evidence about their protective benefit.

"While there is on-going work by government agencies such as Worksafe and ACC to raise awareness of quad bike safety through education, on the basis of this recent research it would seem timely for New Zealand agencies with a mandate to set, implement and enforce quad bike standards and safety to revisit the position of mandating ROP devices," she said.

She also detailed other government initiatives in Australia aimed at incentivising safer farm quad bike use, including the recent development of a mandatory national quad bike safety rating in New South Wales, which reportedly had national support.

While WorkSafe New Zealand had a lead role in workplace quad bike safety, she suggested a cross-agency working group convene to consider a whole-of-government approach to her recommendation that agencies with a mandate to set, implement and enforce quad bike standards and safety consider whether:

• The Quad Bike Workplace Safety Project findings provided a case for ROP devices to be mandated for all quad bikes;
• A rebate or subsidy programme for rider training, purchase and fitting of ROP devices, and purchase of alternative vehicles, should be introduced for farmers and their employees who use quad bikes in their farming activities; and
• A five-star safety rating system should be introduced for quad bikes.