{"id":168485,"date":"2017-01-30T14:28:32","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T04:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=168485"},"modified":"2020-09-25T13:46:20","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T03:46:20","slug":"quad-laws-start-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/01\/30\/quad-laws-start-this-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Quad Laws Start This Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Quad bike crashes are a major cause of farm injuries; new laws that come into effect on February 1 aim to reduce quad bike and utility off-road vehicle accidents (Photo: RACQ LifeFlight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

January 30, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

Children under eight will not be allowed to be carried as passengers on quad bikes under new laws that come into effect on Wednesday (February 1).<\/p>\n

They will also be prohibited from being passengers in utility off-road vehicles being used on a road.<\/p>\n

Children of any age will also not be able to be carried as passengers in off-road vehicles if they are unable to sit with their feet flat on the floor and hands on handholds.<\/p>\n

As well, quad bike and utility off-road operators and passengers will also be required to wear a motorcycle helmet from February 1 if the vehicles are driven on roads and road-related areas, or face a $365 fine and the loss of three points.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This offence will also be subject to existing motorcycle helmet double demerit point penalties, which means that if two or more motorcycle helmet offences are committed within a 12-month period, the second and subsequent offences will incur double demerit points.<\/p>\n

These new requirements will be enforced by Queensland Police.<\/p>\n

From February 1, there will be no exemptions from wearing an approved motorcycle helmet for quad bike riders and passengers.<\/p>\n

Exemptions from wearing an approved motorcycle helmet will still apply for the driver and passengers of utility off-road vehicles being operated under conditional registration code LO3, provided the vehicle has factory-fitted seatbelts and a roll over protection system.<\/p>\n

A Workplace Health and Safety Queensland spokesperson said WHSQ and the quad bike industry were working together to ensure quad bike riders understood a helmet was the most effective defence against often-fatal head injuries.<\/p>\n

More than 70 people have been killed on quad bikes in Queensland since 2001 – approximately 30 per cent of all quad bike-related deaths in Australia.<\/p>\n

Queensland also has the highest number of quad bike-related hospitalisations with about 1500 between 2009-2013, as well as 3000 quad bike-related emergency department presentations and more than 1000 ambulance attendances.<\/p>\n