Honda, Yamaha and Polaris have all revealed they will pull their quad bikes from the Australian market, with Honda stating the impossibility of meeting new safety standards the reason. The ACCC stands by the introduction of new compulsory roll-over measures, despite some dealers coming out against the move, citing impacts to their sales. 

ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh states the measures are warranted and required to change the unacceptable injury and fatality rates. 

“It highlights to us that despite all the noise, all the publicity, about quad bike safety over the past two years while we conducted the review, fatalities are up and likely to be considerably higher. 

“It reaffirms that something needs to change.” 

Sadly, Australia has tallied its ninth death linked to quad bikes in the year to date, with a presumed higher unconfirmed overall figure. All fatalities linked to quad bikes were reported to have occurred with experienced riders operating vehicles not fitted with operator protection devices such as roll-over protection- something the new compulsory measures require.  

Mr Keogh said there was no reason Australian bikes could not be fitted to reach the standard. “Israel have had the requirement for roll-over protection in place for quite some time,” he said. 

“We didn’t specify the exact requirement, with the only proviso being that it had to meet or exceed the existing roll-over protection devices. “It was made as easy as possible and in reality manufacturers could simply have the dealers install an available roll-over protection device to new bikes and they would be compliant with the code.” 

Quad bike fatality rates are almost double the fatalities associated with motor vehicles, with changes to quad bike regulation not occurring as swiftly or frequently with road registerable vehicles.  

Honda announced they will no longer be selling quad bikes in Australian stores from October 2021 marking an end to their ATV line-up down under, with the increasingly popular side-by-side vehicles likely filling the void in the market. 

Source: farmonline.com Honda Quits Quads But ACCC Stands By Decision

1 Jun 2020