National Rural Health Alliance
The National Rural Health Alliance, the peak body for rural and remote health in Australia, welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement today of new safety standards for quad bikes.
“Quad bikes are responsible for far too many preventable injuries and deaths in rural Australia, and so we welcome the introduction today of new safety measures which will apply in full from 2021,” said CEO Dr Gabrielle O’Kane.
“The Alliance, along with many other organisations representing rural and remote Australians, has been calling for several years for action to make quad bikes safer.
“In particular we’ve been calling for the introduction of Operator Protection Devices as well as uniform national standards relating to design and engineering, so it’s great to see the Government has announced they will be implementing these measures.
“We simply can’t ignore any longer the threat posed to rural communities by quad bikes, which have claimed the lives of over 230 Australians since 2001. Every quad-bike related death is a tragedy, not least because so many are preventable.
“This is a positive step and will genuinely save lives in rural and remote Australia.”
The National Rural Health Alliance recently joined a campaign by the National Farmers Federation, Rural Doctors Association of Australia, Royal Flying Doctor Service, National Rural Women’s Coalition, Country Women’s Association of Australia and the Australian Workers’ Union to call for the Government to implement the ACCC’s recommendation of mandatory Operator Protection Devices on all quad bikes.
Detailed information on the new safety requirements is available at https://www.productsafety.gov.au/standards/quad-bikes
/Public Release.
