Nine-year-old Tasmanian boy dies in quad bike accident at Sandford

Tasmania has recorded its third ATV-related fatality this year with the death of a young boy on a rural property in the state’s South.

Associate Professor Tony Lower supports the push to get children off ATVs. Picture: Chris McLennan

Tasmania has recorded its third ATV-related fatality this year with the death of a young boy on a rural property at Sandford in the state’s South.

The nine-year-old died when the quad bike he was riding rolled at a family member’s property on Dixon Point Rd on Saturday.

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The Tasmanian tragedy occurred on the same day a seven-year-old was killed when he crashed a quad bike near Manjimup in Western Australia.

Emergency services were called to Sandford just before 2:30pm on Saturday.

Attempts by family members, police and paramedics to resuscitate the boy were unsuccessful and he died at the scene.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten has previously called for children under 16 to be banned from operating full-size all-terrain vehicles. Picture: Kym Smith

Police said he was wearing a full face helmet at the time of the crash.

There was an outpouring of grief on social media with the boy being described as “a beautiful, caring boy that always loved a chat”.

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His death comes after the death of an ATV rider at Richmond in January and another at Warrane in February.

From 2011 and 2015 there were seven quad bike deaths in Tasmania and across Australia 126 fatalities were recorded between 2011 and 2018.

In 2016 then employment and workplace relations minister Bill Shorten called for children under 16 to be banned from operating full-size all-terrain vehicles.

A Tasmanian coroner also called for tougher licensing for riders to be introduced in his findings into the death of a rider on the West Coast.

Coroner Rod Chandler recommended a new licensing system for ATV users be established and extra safety training made mandatory.

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Coroner Chandler said circumstances surrounding each of the ATV deaths he had investigated showed a lack of understanding of the dangers involved with their use.

Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety director Tony Lower also supports the push to get children off ATVs.

“If you look at the evidence from Australia, the US and Canada, children do not have the physical size, strength or cognitive development to operate these machines safely,’’ he told the Mercury.

Associate Professor Lower said two-wheeled motorbikes and even horses were much safer than quad bikes.

“We want children to be the next generation of farmers and to do that we have to keep them safe,’’ he said.

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