Go down to the A&E (ER in american) and ask them what they think of mini-bikes and quad bikes.
There was a recurring theme in the accidents involving quad bikes. One 48-year-old employee was killed when the ATV he was riding overturned. He lost control of the vehicle as he approached the farmyard. The front tyres were worn and were about to be replaced during a vehicle service, though the worn condition of the tyres was not thought by the vehicle examiner to be a significant factor in causing the accident. The driver was not wearing any form of protective headgear and sustained fatal head injuries when the vehicle overturned.
A 52-year-old self-employed farmer died when his quad bike ran head-on into a wall. He was riding a quad bike loaded with fencing posts across a slope. It is assumed, since there were no witnesses, that the posts moved, causing the farmer to lose control of the vehicle. He was not wearing any head protection. A 61-year-old self-employed farmer was killed when he fell from a quad bike, which overturned after he rode it up a steep field and accelerated over cattle ruts. The front wheels lifted and the acceleration caused the bike to rear up and overturn. He was not believed to be wearing a helmet and suffered head and neck injuries, as well as a broken elbow.
A 43-year-old farm worker was discovered underneath a quad bike. He was using a quad bike to bring in cattle for afternoon milking and was not wearing a helmet. He died from head injuries.
A five-year-old child was hit and crushed against a gatepost by an ATV. Her mother was tending a horse in a field, accompanied by her two children. She entered the field with her youngest child, leaving the ATV's engine running. It appears that her other daughter may accidentally have lent forward and operated the accelerator, causing the ATV to drive forward, hitting the youngest child and trapping her against the gatepost.
Fortunately, not every quad bike mishap ends in a fatality, but statistics show that minor injuries have also risen exponentially with the popularity of the ATV. In 1998, 1,200 patients visited Accident & Emergency centres across the UK because they had hurt themselves on a quad bike. By the turn of the century that number had reached 3,200, and by 2002 it was more than 4,200.
"The HSE does not release A&E figures any more, but it makes sense that the number will have grown since then," said Roger Vincent, a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. "The greatest problem with quads is that owners will drive them too fast on uneven terrain without first learning the basic skills on flat, open terrain. Drivers must remember that this is a professional piece of equipment, rather than a toy to tear about on with a friend on the back as though they are on a fairground ride."
Roger quoted the example of Thomas Crombie, a father of two, from Lanarkshire, who died in an accident on a quad bike bought only two hours earlier. The 37-year-old suffered fatal injuries when the 200cc machine struck a brick pillar. He was driving quickly around an industrial yard when he attempted a tight turn. The bike turned over and he was thrown head first into the brick pillar. He was not wearing a helmet.
ATV manufacturers recommend that their customers sit an EASI (European All-Terrain Vehicle Safety Institute) test when they buy a quad bike. For more information, visit
www.quadsafety.org