Quad bike driver seriously injured in collision near Waitomo Caves

File photo

A quad bike driver has been transported to hospital with a serious head injury after a collision with a car near Waitomo Caves.

Emergency services were called to the accident on Waitomo Caves Rd at 8.10am.

A police spokeswoman said the victim was in a serious condition when he was transported, via road, to Waikato Hospital.

This incident follows last weekend's accident, where Brooklyn Grigg, 5, was killed on a Kumeu lifestyle block, when the child-sized quad bike he was riding toppled into a stream.

The death of the young boy, who was yesterday farewelled, has led to renewed calls to ban children from quad bikes altogether as well as better safety regulations around ATV use.

ACC figures given to the Herald show all-terrain-vehicle [ATV] accidents across all age groups cost the country more than $15 million in 2014 and 2015.

The year 2014 was the most costly with $8.2m paid out, and $7.1m the following year.

A total of 4715 people have been injured in accidents, 1447 of those, or 31 per cent, on a farm in the same time period.

Fourteen people died - six in 2014 and eight last year - in an accident involving an ATV.

WorkSafe NZ said quad bike injuries were preventable and recommended that all those who drove one had the right training and experience; that the right vehicle was chosen for the setting; that a helmet was always worn; and that kids shouldn't be allowed to ride on adult-sized quad bikes.