It seems that everyone you talk to have either been involved in a quad bike accident or know someone that has.  There also seem to be a steady stream of news involving quad bike tragedies.  Every death leaves behind immense heartbreak for families, friends and even acquaintances of the deceased.

The reasons for accidents are varied from driver inattention, rolling on uneven surface, poorly weighted load or speed.

Nearly a third of farm accidents are quad bike related and there appears no abatement of this figure in sight.  The reasons for accidents are varied from driver inattention, rolling on uneven surface, poorly weighted load or speed. The ages too are across the board from under ten to over seventy.  As a consequence, there is no one answer to preventing accidents, however as the saying goes nothing changes until something changes.  Is it time to do something?  Unless there are manufacture changes to the quad it will always command respect due to its high centre of gravity. The suggestion of roll bars has been bantered around for some time.  There was resistance to roll bars for tractors and seat belts for cars but research has concluded that these measures save lives. Maybe roll bars on quads will too. Maybe there should be compulsory formal training.  For a small fee WorkSafe could organise a training provider to circulate the farming community on a regular basis. Perhaps WorkSafe need to prosecute reckless driving, although personally, I prefer education over punishment as a means of bringing long term change. Something needs to change or nothing will.