By The Federal
Chamber of Automotive Industries (Australia)
Australia's
peak body for the automotive industry, the Federal Chamber of Automotive
Industries (FCAI) together with the Australian All Terrain Vehicle (ATV)
industry, comprising the leading distributors, have today called for proposals
for the use of rollover devices on ATVs to be rejected.
Reports released
last week by Dynamic Research Inc. (DRI), an internationally recognised firm
specialising in applied research in the areas of vehicle dynamics and controls,
simulator technology and accident investigation, confirmed that Rollover
Protection Systems (ROPS) and Crush Protective Devices (CPDs) on ATVs can cause
unacceptably high levels of harm in comparison to their benefits.
Updated research
into one type of locally-produced CPD found that it caused more harm than it
prevented in the sample of overturns examined, regardless of whether a helmet
was worn.
Cameron Cuthill,
FCAI Motorcycle Manager, said "The ATV industry will continue to put the safety
of riders first by opposing the use of rollover devices in Australia.
"The findings of
the DRI research report cannot be disputed. The research is state-of-technology
and is based upon published research and relevant portions of international
research standards, as expected of a quality report. It confirms that rollover
devices, and in particular so-called `crush protective devices', should not be
fitted to ATVs," he said.
The ATV industry
is highly concerned that recent calls by certain interest groups for rollover
devices to be mandated is based on flawed logic, misinformation and research
which does not adhere to relevant international standards.
Mr Cuthill, noted
"Studies conducted in Australia
attempting to make a case for CPDs are very limited, don't follow international
standards, and have not involved any practical tests undertaken with injury
monitoring crash dummies to verify the validity of the assumptions upon which
they rely."
The ATV industry
urges all stakeholders and commentators to carefully review the findings of the
DRI report which can be found at http://www.dri-atv-rops-research.com/ and, in light of those findings, to
reconsider the claims made by suppliers of CPDs, and by their supporters.
The DRI research
included refinements to ATV accident scenario simulations to specifically
address previous concerns raised by local interest groups.
Across more than
1,500 computer simulations conducted for helmeted riders, a locally produced
CPD product was found to have, on average, injury and fatality risks that
exceeded its potential benefits. When extended to all overturns that might occur,
the new research indicated the CPD would cause approximately as many injuries
for helmeted riders as it prevented.
For un-helmeted
riders on an ATV fitted with the same device, the respective injury and
fatality risk/benefit percentages indicated that the device would cause significantly more injuries and fatalities than it
would prevent.
The ATV industry
will continue to push for safety interventions with known positive
benefits.
All ATV riders
should be appropriately trained to operate the vehicle, always wear a helmet,
not carry more than the approved number of passengers, and only use the vehicle
for its intended purposes. Children under 16 years of age should never be
allowed on an adult-sized ATV.
"ATVs are not toys
and should not be treated as such," said Mr Cuthill.
"Unfortunately,
while the focus remains on rollover devices, real solutions will continue to be
ignored. Attention should instead be maintained on helmet use, training and
keeping children off full-size ATVs."
The new research
can be downloaded from http://www.dri-atv-rops-research.com/.
