Quad bike future under question

This comes as the deadline for response to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission's draft mandatory standard approaches.

Last month the ACCC recommended the federal government ensure all general-use quad bikes have CPDs either integrated to the design or fitted onto the vehicles, among other advice.

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It also recommended the states and territories mandate licensing, age limits, training requirements and the use of protective clothing, including helmets, but noted advising states was outside its scope.

A 2016 study into quad bikes in SA, conducted by the Centre for Automotive Safety Research and the Research Centre for Injury Studies, found more than half of all quad fatalities from 2001 to 2013 involved the vehicle rolling and pinning the rider.

Major manufacturers Honda and Yamaha have said they will be forced to stop selling the vehicles in Australia if the rollover bar recommendations are brought into law.

An ACCC spokesperson said its focus in proposing a safety standard has been on the unsafe characteristics of quad bikes.

"Individual manufacturers must make their own commercial decisions about participating in the Australian market," they said.

Station owner Ian Conway, Kings Creek Station, NT, who also owns property at Woodside, estimates he has about 25 quad bikes, all in regular use.

They are used for spraying, fencing, bore runs, cattle mustering and more.

Quad bikes also serve as part of his tourism operation in the NT, with riders trained beforehand, kept on established trails and assigned guides who set the speed.

"We teach them how to sit on a quad, how to ride and if they do anything remotely stupid, they get picked up and sent back," he said.

"Training is essential and if anyone buys a quad bike, they should go through a training session.

"You really do need to train people to ride them because they're not toys."

Mr Conway believes rollover bars could create hazards in certain country and could be an inconvenience when getting on or off.

As a regular user of Yamaha bikes, he is concerned about threats they may no longer be available to buy them in Australia.

"We buy them brand new every three years and they've usually done so many miles we can't even get a trade in," he said.

"They're part and parcel of our livelihood."

Miles Hannemann, Keith, is also a believer in training.

He has two quad bikes on his farm for spraying and accessing areas other vehicles cannot.

He said any friends or new workers who wanted to ride the quads were taken to a dam for training.

"We go to the worst place on the farm and I teach them where their body weight should be, at a slow speed," he said.

He said quad bikes were a "tool of the trade".

"We need to make sure we can go into a shop in 10 years and buy quad bikes," Mr Hannemann said.

Melanie Welsh, Wellington, has had close experience with how dangerous quad bikes can be, after her husband was in an accident.

She believes a CPD would have made things worse.

She said there is a place for quad bikes if they are treated properly.

"There doesn't seem to be any desire on anyone's part to stop kids being on them," she said.

"There is a perception that they're a toy and they're not."

Bridgeland Motors managing director Jacquelyn Short sells about 100 quad bikes a year.

"If the high quality companies pull out, what quality quads will we be left with and will they be safe?" she said.

"People think side-by-sides, but they can't go all the places a quad can and are very expensive."

She said farmers could resort to using older, potentially unsafe quads, instead of upgrading.

In a Stock Journal survey, 94 per cent of respondents indicated they were concerned about what it would mean if Honda and Yamaha would no longer sell quads locally.

One respondent said this would remove competition and drive up prices, making it harder to afford newer and more reliable bikes, while many said quads were necessary for their operations.

The survey also showed 81pc of respondents do not agree CPDs were the right solution to improving safety outcomes. Several respondents said these devices could create a hazard when mustering stock.

Another said rollover bars may be appropriate in open fields but would be unsuitable in horticultural systems, when working in narrow rows and under trees and canopies.

"Like everything, appropriate use is the key, not regulation," they said.

Quad safety was a high priority for 46pc of respondents, while 53pc said it did not rank higher than other potential on-farm hazards.

About 9pc reported previous involvement in a dangerous incident while using quad bikes.

One-quarter of respondents had invested in their own safety measures for their quad bikes, namely speed limiters, rollover bars and helmets.

More than one-third said they had also introduced other measures, such as training for all users and age limits.