A 14-year-old who died in a farm accident was a "town girl" who had no idea of the danger of farm bikes, a coroner's inquest in Hamilton was told.
Amanda Pearse, 14, died on August 17 when she was crushed by a quad bike.
The Hamilton's Fraser High School student hadbeen staying the weekend at the family farm of her friend Michelle Schicker in Te Rapa.
The inquest was told that the girls decided to cross the farm to a nearby service station and asked Michelle's mother for permission to take the bike. Michelle was driving and Amanda was sitting on the back.
When they came to a fence, Michelle got off to open the gate. Amanda then sat in the driver's seat, and when Michelle asked her to push the throttle slightly, the rear wheels spun backwards, tipping Amanda on to an electric fence.
Michelle ran back to the house and a tractor was used to free the bike, but Amanda was dead when the ambulance arrived.
Occupational Health and Safety inspector Ian Baxter said Amanda "almost certainly" would have survived had there been roll bars on the bike. He said there was a strong lobby against making roll bars compulsory.
"Manufacturers don't want the machines to be seen as inherently dangerous."
Hamilton coroner Gordon Matenga said the Government had been "a little slow recognising the dangers" of quad bikes.
