Gympie quad bike dealer talks new safety regulations

After four big quad bike manufacturers pulled out of supplying vehicles to Australia amid new safety regulations, Gympie’s linked businesses face an uncertain future. Here’s how one reacted.

New safety rules for quad bikes, enforced as of Monday after a spate of deadly accidents, don’t necessarily achieve the goal.

That’s the view of a local dealer who believes a focus on helmet use would have been better than the roll bar requirement which has led to the mass exodus of quad-bike suppliers from the Australian market.

The new regulations mean it is now illegal to sell new or second-hand quad bikes without a rollover protection device, and all bikes now require stickers showing the slope degree at which they can overturn.

Most quad bikes weigh up to 350 kilograms.

Those who do not comply with the new regulations will face a $500,000 fine.

Victorian parents Dean and Emily Cason lost their son Sam 10 years ago in a quad bike accident when he was 11. He would now be 21. Picture: Tim Carrafa

The move followed an increase in deaths from quad bike rollovers in 2020, most of which happened on farms.

The most recent accident in the Gympie region was on Sunday (October 10), where paramedics were called to a rollover on a private property in Bells Bridge.

But not everyone was happy with the new regulations.

Big manufacturers including Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha no longer supply Australia with quad bikes after the new regulations began, which puts dealerships across the country under threat.

Gympie motorbikes salesman Zhane Bernardin with one of the only quad bikes left in the dealership, designed for children.

Zhane Bernadin, salesman for Gympie motorcycles, which is a dealer for Kawasaki and had ended their relationship with Honda prior to the regulations said it was too early to tell if this would have a negative impact on sales.

He said Kawasaki was already aware of the issues and dangers regarding quad bikes, and had started supplying a larger range of side-by-sides, which came with factory-fitted roll protection.

“We were quite worried to begin with, because there is quite a large quad base here in Gympie,” he said.

“Everybody knew about the laws 12 to 24 months ago, so what we saw was an increase in quad bike sales, because they knew they weren’t going to be able to purchase quad bikes.”

While he recognised the regulations were a positive move towards safety, Mr Bernadin felt there were other, more effective measures that could have been taken and possibly prevent the big manufacturers from pulling the pin.

Mr Bernardin said due to Kawasaki no longer supplying to Australia, Gympie Motorbikes now focus on their range of side-by-sides and other vehicles instead.

“I can see why the Australian government has seen it appropriate for manufacturers to fit roll protection,” he said.

“If you talk to any of the manufactures about the rollover protection system, and you look at any other vehicle with a rollover protection system, it doesn’t work with a quad bike.”

He said without a seatbelt, the rollover protection essentially became “a guillotine” and believed the best solution to this would be increased use of helmets when using a quad bike.

“A helmet is a more effective roll protection system than a roll bar … a helmet actually protects your head.”

The only other motorbike dealer in Gympie, Wide Bay Motorcycles, was not available for comment.

Originally published as Gympie quad bike dealer talks new safety regulations