SA project tackles quad bike danger

With the popularity of quad bikes – and consequently reports of accidents – on the rise, researchers at the University of Adelaide's Centre for Automotive Safety Research have begun investigating the causes of on-farm accidents.

CASR research fellow Lisa Wundersitz said the project aimed to reduce the risks to quad bike users.

"We aim to complete a detailed analysis of the causes and circumstances around quad bike incidents and make recommendations that will help agricultural workers use their bikes in a safe manner," Dr Wundersitz said.

Input from the farming community will be vital to the success of the project with researchers hoping to speak to 40 or 50 SA farmers who use a quad bike for work.

"We want to find out how people use the quad bikes and what activities they use them for on the farms," Dr Wundersitz said. "If they've had any incidents we'd like to hear about them – maybe they haven't had an incident where they've fallen off, but it might have been a near miss.

"A lot of data that people have done research with is concerning fatalities or where people end up in hospital, but it's just as important to hear about those ones that happen on the farm every day."

Researchers have begun reaching out to farmers through Ag Bureaus and Primary Producers SA, but Dr Wundersitz encouraged quad bike users to get in touch with CASR directly.

She said first-hand information from users would be the foundation of the project.

"There's anecdotal stories that people tell each other, but we need them to tell us so we can get it written down on paper," she said. "It's their chance to be heard."

Farmers' input is designed to be as unobtrusive and take as little time as possible.

"It's a face-to-face interview where we come out to the farmers on their property or workplace and it takes 30-40 minutes," she said. "We like to see their bikes and the terrain they ride them in."

* Full report in Stock Journal, September 18, 2014 issue.