Roll-over protection can reduce fatal accidents with quad bikes

Quad bike is a collective name for several types of vehicles with different rules. 

- The problem that you hurt yourself and can injure yourself is common to everyone, says Tomas Nordfjell who is a professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. He is leading a study that will find out what Swedish users think about roll-over protection on their quad bike.

According to the Swedish Transport Agency's calculations, eleven people died in an accident with a quad bike last year. In 2010, the figure was two people. Seven out of ten deaths occur through overturning. 

- It is about a machine overturning, a driver coming under the vehicle and due to the weight of the vehicle, there is a risk of suffocation, says Tomas Nordfjell.

An anti-roll bar can look different, but is an arch or bar that protects the driver from being pinched between the quad bike and the ground if the machine overturns.

In Australia, where research has been done on the safety of off-road vehicles for a long time, there are now legal requirements for roll-over protection on quad bikes. 

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences will investigate how roll protection works for Swedish users.

- That it is useful, we know that, the question is what users say about them, says Tomas Nordfjell.

Catharina Rudolphsson, who uses a quad bike daily in her farm, could consider testing if she knew she could take off the protection when it disturbed. 

- All forms of security are good, but it must not disrupt our business, she says.

The study starts this autumn and will continue until the year 2022 by 50 users around Sweden mounting the protection on their machine and answering questions during the course of the study.