Evaluation of Injury Risks and Benefits of a Crush Protection Device (CPD) for All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)

All-Terrain Vehicle Safety―Potential Effectiveness of the Quadbar as a Crush Prevention Device

“…While innovators have suggested different types of machine-based protections for riders, in Australia the ATV manufacturing industry has claimed that the QB increases the danger of impact injuries in the event of a crash in addition to crush-related injuries (i.e., the net effect). Some simulation tests support this claim [36].…”

ATV Rollover, Rider Response, and Determinants of Injury: In-depth Analysis of Video-documented ATV Rollover Events

“…Based on their simulations, the authors concluded that "consideration should be given to fitting either: CPD, ROPS or ROPS with rider restraint" (p. 1). An extensive computer simulation study reported by Zellner et al (2013) incorporating a simulated rider found that the addition of a CPD created injury and fatality risks that were greater than the possible benefits and recommended against the use of a CPD. To date, however, these studies and methods have not accounted for the movements of an active rider, including active separation, which this study shows is an important element in understanding the injury dynamics of ATV rollover events.…”

“…Previous studies have evaluated the performance of CPDs (Richardson 2013;Snook 2009;Zellner et al 2008Zellner et al , 2013. Snook (2009) reported the effect of a CPD on ATV roll kinematics under physical testing conditions where the ATV roll was initiated using a gravity-driven sled incorporating a catapult release to induce rotation.…”

“…For example, in a simple rearward rollover, the rider could successfully dismount and separate from the vehicle at the loss of control or could maintain the riding position and could be injured when the ATV becomes inverted and the rider is between the ATV and ground. CPDs and other rollover protective structures have been evaluated using both physical testing and computer simulations (Pizialli et al 1993;Richardson et al 2013;Snook 2009;Zellner et al 2008Zellner et al , 2013. These analyses either do not incorporate any rider or rely upon a passive crash dummy or a computer-simulated passive crash dummy to evaluate potentially injurious contact between the ATV and the rider.…”

Australian quad bike fatalities: what is the economic cost?

“…This requires a greater emphasis on assisting those who use these vehicles (particularly in a farm or work context) to select other vehicles that may be safer for the task(s) they need to undertake. While contention from quad manufacturers regarding fitting of crush protection devices remains, 51 independent agencies drawing on existing evidence have recommended the fitting of these devices to the current fleet of quad bikes 52 . Indeed, recent initiatives at a federal level in Australia have mandated fitting of these devices to all quads operated by Commonwealth agencies 53 .…”