ACCC to target quad bikes in 2018

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has named quad bike safety as one of many areas it intends to target in a bid to reduce the risk of unsafe goods entering the Australian market.

The announcement came during the 2018 National Consumer Congress when chairman Rod Sims discussed a new policy the organisation will adopt to prioritise and manage safety risks, and named ATVs, the far-reaching Takata airbag recall and improving the safety of products online as just three of the many products or scenarios currently causing unusually high risk to Aussie consumers.

Sims didn’t outline exactly how the ACCC intends to target quad bikes, and whether it has anything to do with the recent and controversial ROPS debate, but according to an issue paper released by the organisation in November 2017, the commission is investigating a range of reforms it hopes will reduce the high number of deaths resulting from quad-bike use in Australia.

Between January 2011 and October 2017, 114 people died in quad-bike related accidents, 15 per cent of which were aged 16 or under, and one of the reforms the ACCC investigated was to mandate specific design and construction requirements which would reduce the risk for children riding adult-sized quad bikes.

Sims also revealed during his March 15 speech that the commission is working towards introducing General Safety Provision into Australian Consumer Law by the end of 2018.

“Most consumers are surprised to learn that it is not illegal to sell unsafe products in Australia. Indeed they purchase products with the expectation that they are safe.

“Despite our best efforts, and yours, consumers are tragically injured and killed by unsafe products every year.

“Why do we need a general safety provision? We need it because our current product safety laws are essentially reactive. They normally only come into play after a problem has occurred.”