ATV safety a hot issue

About 290 rural motorcycle dealers around Australia have received a strongly worded letter from the nation’s peak agricultural health organisation regarding liability surrounding the fitment of so-called aftermarket roll-over protection devices (ROPD) on ATVs, but the action has been sharply criticised by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) as the situations reaches flashpoint.

In the letter, Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety director Tony Lower told dealers that its legal advice stipulated that crash protection was “a key part of ensuring the safety of quad bikes, and supply of such quads without the relevant crash protection may expose you to liability”.

“Persons conducting a business or undertaking of supplying plant for use at work must ensure so far as reasonably practicable that the plants is safe and free from risks to health.”

He continued: “As rollover incidents are responsible for almost 50 percent of quad bike fatalities, and this is a known risk, we would strongly encourage you to assess your own legal risk of supplying quad bikes without crush protection devices into Australian workplaces.”

Lower said the position would be strengthened under new federal work safety laws due to come into effect on January 1, 2012.

According to the FCAI motorcycle boss, Rhys Griffiths, the letter has placed dealers in an “insidious position".

Griffiths told The Weekly Times newspaper: “The letter basically says dealers could be looking at law suits for not fitting devices on ATVs.

“This is in direct contradiction to the manufacturers’ recommendations, so the dealers are caught in the middle.”

Griffiths maintains that previous research on ATV safety is still valid, and he also said that there are currently no engineering or design standards to which ROPD can be tested to.

“Over the past 25 years, research has proved that, at best, the jury is out over rollover protection and, at worst, it creates more harm than benefits,” said Griffiths.

An ATV dealer in southern NSW told The Weekly Times that “the industry has already looked at it (rollover bars), and adding something is screwing with the integrity of the machine”.

“And ATVs are not dangerous if ridden correctly. Most accidents  happen because people are fooling around, riding two-up, racing, or have to much weight on the back.”

According the FCAI, there is an average of 12 fatalities a year as a result of ATV crashes, with about 300,000 ATVs being used on farms around Australia every day.

An ATV manufacturer, which chose to remain anonymous, told the Bikesales Network that even if ROPD was mandated in Australia, sourcing units directly from the factory would be “extremely cost prohibitive”.

“If Australia is the only country to go this way and the factory has to produce, say, 200 units, just for our market, then the breakeven point is way higher than that. That means prices will go up.

“But really, we already have an answer for many of the questions being asked – side-by-side vehicles. But then again, they are cumbersome compared to an ATV….”

In 2011, the ATV market has exploded in Australia, and was up 34 percent in the first quarter of 2011, equating to 4509 units.