Quad Bike Deaths: Common And Costly

Australian quad bike fatalities are on the rise each year — and the loss of human capital is costing our economy hundreds of millions of dollars, according to new research findings. The report also breaks down the most death-prone age groups; with the elderly topping the list.

Quad picture from Michael Stokes/Shutterstock

Researchers from the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health & Safety studied the quad bike related deaths in Australia between 2001 and 2010, of which there were 124. They then calculated the total economic cost of each fatality, based on ambulance, police and hospital services, funeral expenses, coronial and work safety authority investigations, death compensation payouts and loss of earnings due to premature death.

Quad bike fatalities have a significant economic impact on Australian society that is increasing...The estimated total economic cost associated with quad bike fatalities over this period was $288.1 million, with an average cost for each fatality of $2.3 million.

As the report notes, the above estimation does not factor in indirect costs such as injury to third parties, lost agricultural production or damage to agricultural machinery (not to mention non-fatal injuries that resulted in lifelong disabling conditions). In other words, the total of $288.1 million is highly conservative.

The report also notes that there has been a recent upswing in the number of quad bike deaths documented in Australia since the study was conducted. "When coupled with continued increases in the sale of these vehicles, there is every reason to suspect that costs associated with fatal incidents will also escalate," the report claims.

The report found that citizens living in the country are most at risk. Around two thirds of all quad bike deaths occurred on farms during the recorded period, with more than 50 percent of fatalities caused during rollovers. This eclipsed on-farm tractor deaths by a rate of 2:1.

Interestingly, the highest prevalence of death between 2001 and 2010 was among riders aged 65 years and over (21 per cent). This was closely followed by 15-24 years olds (19.4 per cent) and children under 15 (16.9 per cent). The age bracket that recorded the lowest number of fatalities was 24 to 35 year olds.

In terms of gender, men made up a massive 81.5 per cent of the total quad bike deaths recorded. The report also notes that the women killed typically had annual salaries that were around a third lower than their male counterparts.

The report concludes that developing protective quad bike designs, introducing new government policy and an increase in available training have the potential to be highly cost-effective in the long run.

Have you ever had any close calls or ugly knocks while tearing about on a quad? Share your stories in the comments section below?


    This is exactly the same as this sites article on trampolines, which I hope my brief statistical analysis on made you feel somewhat.. well.. stupid about the post.

    Next article; "13 people die every year trying to eat a bicycle. Report suggests proactive measures against this"

      You didn't find the elderly deaths statistic at all interesting? I would have assumed there'd be more fatalities among teenage hoons. (I guess they're harder to kill.)

        elderly crash statistics tend to be high with pretty much any vehicle. Quad bikes just offer far less protection when you hit something.

      You can almost "insert item here" for example people who ride scooters have a lot of accidents with traffic and are over represented by old people.

    There's also the 'more likely to be riding quads' aspect- farmers seem to be getting older these days (yes, Ok, I don't have the stats to back that up at my fingertips) and they are the ones out on the quad doing farm work, being tired and in sometimes less than ideal conditions.

    Next would be teen hoons.

    This is why my Dad always refused to have any on the farm as I was growing up, they are deadly, they tip too easily, and it's all too common. He stuck to two-wheelers and my grandfather used a little suzuki truck, or horses if the truck couldn't reach (rocky high country), because he didn't like the motorbikes much.

    My wife's uncle came off his quad last year whilst about 2km from the farmhouse. He broke his hip in the fall but the tough old bastard crawled all the way back to call an ambulance. Now he's on his feet again he sticks to using his old Honda postie bike as he considers it far safer.

    I almost killed myself on my quadbike within 15minutes of owning it....
    Touch and go and almost bit the big one.

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