Roll bars save lives in quad rollovers

Roll bars on quad bikes can significantly reduce the number of deaths and injuries when the vehicle rolls sideways in an accident, a US study has found.

The study, released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Tuesday, was commissioned by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

It used various quad bike models and a test dummy to test the effectiveness of roll bars - aka operator protection devices (OPDs) - in rollover accidents at low or moderate speed.

The report comes ahead of the Australian government's quad bike safety standard becoming mandatory next month, when all new and second hand imported general use quad bikes sold must have a test tag attached indicating the angle at which they will rollover, and from October next year they must have a roll bar fitted.

Mostly used on farms in Australia, more than 80 per cent of quad bike accidents in Australia that have caused serious injury occurred at or under 35km/h, mostly on flat terrain.

At least 60 per cent of fatalities from quad bike incidents in Australia between 2011-2018 occurred when the bike rolled, trapping the rider underneath and leading to asphyxiation or deadly crush injuries.

Since 2011, 149 people have been killed in quad bike accidents in Australia, 23 of them children.

The US report tested six quad bike models fitted with ATV Lifeguard and Quadbar OPDs and compared them to tests without an OPD at low and moderate speeds.

The low speed tests were conducted in scenarios that mimic typical Australian conditions.

The study used state of the art testing equipment including test dummies with sophisticated electronic sensors.

"The results support the ACCC's view that OPDs are likely to save lives," ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.

"In low speed lateral rollover tests involving a quad bike with an OPD, significant impact between the quad bike and the crash test dummy was virtually eliminated."

"In contrast, in rollover tests of the same model quad bikes without an OPD, the test dummy was struck more than five times more often," Mr Keogh said.

Even at moderate speeds, the tests showed that an OPD resulted in fewer significant impacts between the quad bike and the test dummy.

"This study shows why the Australian government's safety standard is appropriate, and likely to reduce quad bike injuries and deaths," Mr Keogh said.