Lap belts for quads! Coroner Smith needs ta get a life!

[RiderInBlack]

From TV One News 6pm 11/1/11

Wellington Coroner Ian Smith has sent a report to Transport Minister Stephen Joyce and Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson which calls for helmets, lap belts and roll bars to be made compulsory on quad bikes.

Glad ta see Minister of Labour Wilkinson told him where ta go with his report. Are all Coroners as stupid as Smith? He really needs ta get a life. Has he forgotten that Roll Bars were taken off Quads not to long ago because they were causing more injuries than they were saving! As for Lap Belts on Quads, is he stark raving mad? Jumping/falling free off a Quad has saved me more than once. A Lap Belt would have at least seen me in Hospital, if not worse. Where the fu*k is he getting his ideas from?
Next thing he'll come up with is Lap Belts and Roll cages for Bikes! That will definitely help when I hit a WRB put in the centre the road ta save my life

[Ronin]

I saw that last night and it did occure to me that Mr Smith has never ridden a quad around a farm.

[mattian]

with the addition of roll cages

[Jay GTI]

Yep he's an idiot alright. Quads, as indeed are many things, are inherently dangerous, but ill-thought out legislation will not stop people dying or being injured on them.

Just an idea, we could just try educating people to the level of a basic understanding of the laws of physics and beyond that just accept that some things in life carry a reasonable amount of risk. We can't protect everyone from everything.

[george formby]

Yep he's an idiot alright. Quads, as indeed are many things, are inherently dangerous, but ill-thought out legislation will not stop people dying or being injured on them.

Just an idea, we could just try educating people to the level of a basic understanding of the laws of physics and beyond that just accept that some things in life carry a reasonable amount of risk. We can't protect everyone from everything.

Eh? Who do I blame if i hurt myself then, eh? eh?

[flyingcr250]

can you imagine trying to get a cocky to wear a seat belt on his quad???
or even trying to get him to pay for a roll cage. whos going to police this?? i smell another tax comming on,
i think something as simple as wearing a mx helmet would stop some of the deaths on quads maybe??
its nanny state gone mad!!!!

[rustic101]

Enforcement of seat belts on a farm would near be impossible. I believe wearing a helmet is of value though, no, is common sense. What concerned me more was the number of clowns on one newspaper poll who voted it as a great idea - Clearly none of these idiots have stepped onto a farm let alone stepped in the proverbial lol

[mattian]

I agree that its a mistake to regulate the hell out of driving vehicles on your own private land, however, there have been far too many preventable deaths on quad bikes and there really needs to be something done about it. It just keeps on happening. I wish I had a more consrtuctive comment but, I honestly don't know what the answer is.

[Edbear]

I thought the roll-bar idea had some merit if a simple single bar that would prevent the quad rolling right over, but what type of injuries were they causing? Lap belts are just plain stupid on any type of bike and I doubt helmets are that necessary either... how many head injuries are caused through quad bike accidents since most are roll-over accidents that crush the rider?

[Jay GTI]

Eh? Who do I blame if i hurt myself then, eh? eh?

the idiot who did it, of course...

Good article in the Herald today (it stood out, will be one of the three they'll print this year), by Donald Aubrey. He talked of installing tilt meters with warning sounds, which is about as sensible as you'll get as far as retro-fitted safety devices for quad bikes go. He also talked of putting things into perspective, considerably more accidents happen at home than on the farm... he also mentioned farm-related quad bike accident numbers pale in comparison to recreational quad bike accidents... having claimed my fair share of ACC payouts due to recreational dirt bike accidents, no amount of safety legislation will stop the human nature of risk-taking in the name of fun.

[Kickaha]

The lap belts would only be a worth having if there was a roll bar/cage or you're just as likely to be killed by the bar crushing you

The reality is no one would wear them anyway

[george formby]

the idiot who did it, of course...

Good article in the Herald today (it stood out, will be one of the three they'll print this year), by Donald Aubrey. He talked of installing tilt meters with warning sounds, which is about as sensible as you'll get as far as retro-fitted safety devices for quad bikes go. He also talked of putting things into perspective, considerably more accidents happen at home than on the farm... he also mentioned farm-related quad bike accident numbers pale in comparison to recreational quad bike accidents... having claimed my fair share of ACC payouts due to recreational dirt bike accidents, no amount of safety legislation will stop the human nature of risk-taking in the name of fun.

Now that does make a lot of sense.

What? Hearing impaired you say? Putting an annoying flashing light on too then.

Blind? Visually challenged & hearing impaired riders may require a tap on the head with a rubber hammer.

It's all moot anyway. All the farmers I knew in the UK (cheviots) rode TY 175's & had a horse for when it snowed.

[steve_t]

Agree that it's stupid and nobody would wear them. I know a few cockies that traverse crazy steep banks. It freaks me out just watching them! But I think they all know that if the bike starts tipping over sideways, you have to turn the bike to go down the hill. The natural reaction is to turn the bike up the hill and it just makes the bike flip over faster. Quad bikes are fricken heavy!

[EXCDirt]

Go with the cigarette package legislation
Why not just put stickers on the tank/ bar/ somewhere on the Quad that if you ride like a dick your brains will be crushed out of your ears...... With added photo like the lungs one? Maybe black and white so it's not as gory?

[onearmedbandit]

Was talking to an ex-employee of a Honda dealership (they who sell the most quads in NZ) and he told us present that when noise was made a few years back about making roll-bars on quads mandatory Honda US said it was not possible to safely attach a roll over bar to their quads. Now of course this is America, where litigation would probably be their main concern, but essentially it was implied that they would not supply quads to our market if it was enforced.

How much truth it holds, who knows. But if you think about it, none of their quads are designed to fit a roll over bar and to do so from factory for such a small market would not really be worth their while.