Mandatory OPDs on quad bikes creating 'space to survive' when accidents occur

Why? Because it could have just as easily happened to me.

The day started out with great excitement; a chance to get off the laptop and instead test ride a variety of all-terrain vehicles.

While I occasionally drove quads in my teens on my parents' farm on the Darling Downs, it was on flat country and usually at a slow pace spraying weeds.

The machine didn't have electronic power steering and had a much smaller engine than some of the ATVs on the market today.

When I was 17 I wrote off a much heftier machine, my parents' dual-cab Toyota HiLux.

My sister and now-husband were both in the vehicle as we travelled between properties to chip weeds.

It was a case of driver inexperience and misjudging the road conditions; a sweeping corner, slippery gravel, a little too much speed and suddenly we were upside down in a table drain.

While we all walked away from the incident relatively unscathed, coming to in an overturned vehicle and being terrified that you have harmed your loved ones is a harrowing feeling.

The incident has stuck with me and I remain a very cautious driver.

So while I was looking forward to getting out on the track that day, I viewed myself as inexperienced and approached the situation with caution.

A couple laps in I started to relax and felt comfortable travelling with a bit more speed and making use of the tight turning circle the machines boasted.

After lunch I was having a conversation on the edge of the field and just happened to be looking in the rider's direction when the accident occurred.

The bike tipped and the front of the vehicle and operator protection device on its rear created what could best be described as a triangle.

A gap was created that mostly protected the rider and fortunately his injuries were not life-threatening.

He, like me, was relatively inexperienced but had loosened up as the day progressed.

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According to Quadbar Australia managing director David Robertson, crush protection devices are designed to "give you some space to survive".

The company supplies its product to manufacturers that have chosen to continue selling ATVs in Australia.

Mr Robertson says there has been a big issue in Australia with the number of people trapped underneath quad bikes, which led to the creation of the Quadbar.

"A roll bar normally has a seatbelt and confines you in a specific place but you can't have a seatbelt on a machine like this; all it is trying to do is keep the bloody thing off you," he says.

"It's not designed to protect in every case but it stops the bike from coming down on top of the rider and crushing or asphyxiating them beneath the bike."

At the one minute mark in the video below you can clearly see the pocket created by a quad bike fitted with an OPD compared to a bike without one.

Tomorrow, October 11, marks one year since Australia's mandatory Quad Bike Safety Standard fully came into effect.

This legislation made it mandatory for every new or second-hand imported general-use quad bike sold to be fitted with an OPD.

Those in the industry say OPDs have become normalised over the past year and the stigma associated with them has faded.

It is hoped these devices will prevent deaths on farms and help farmers return home to their loved ones each day.

But tragically, accidents do still occur and at the end of September there had been six quad bike deaths this year, according to Safe Work Australia.

There were 11 deaths in 2021 and 23 in 2020.

After witnessing an OPD do exactly what it was designed to do that day, I'm thankful for the countless people who championed the introduction of this legislation.

There's also a lot of merit in conversations about training inexperienced riders and other safety measures like wearing a helmet.

I believe there will always be a time and a place for the use of quad bikes and I'll certainly continue riding them.

But I'm unlikely to ever hop on one again that doesn't have an OPD because life is too precious and it's just not worth the risk.