US safety body ATV roll-bar research backs Australian OPDs

ATV research commissioned by the US Government has proven Australian and New Zealand-made operator protection devices dramatically cut ATV rollover impacts. We exclusively reveal the detailed findings.

Roll on: The debate on the value of roll bars has ended, with US Government-commissioned research proving they can save lives.

EXCLUSIVE: PROOF that Australian and New Zealand-made quad-bike roll bars save lives and curb injuries has been released by the US Government’s Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The CPSC commissioned one of the US’s largest forensic engineering firms S-E-A Limited to run six quad bikes through 52 on-ground rollover tests — with and without operator protection devices (roll bars) — at speeds ranging from 32km/h to 42km/h at a Columbus test site in Ohio.

Quadbikes fitted with the New Zealand LifeGuard and Australian QuadBar were each put through nine lower-energy lateral rolls, from 90 degrees and 180 degrees (on to their backs).

Of the nine rollovers “significant ATV interaction with the test dummy’s pelvis, abdomen, thorax or head” was only recorded once.

In contrast, five out of eight rollovers where no OPD was fitted caused “significant interaction” to the dummies.

US CPSC ATV rollover with NZ LifeGuard.

Significant interaction is recorded when a “portion of the ATV – estimated to be 50 per cent or more of the total weight of the ATV – (is) supported by the pelvis, abdomen, thorax or head at any time (regardless of duration) during the rollover”.

S-E-A engineers also put the bikes through higher-energy rollovers, which went past 180 degrees and resulted in the number of serious injuries increasing dramatically as the dummy was hit by 300kg repeatedly somersaulting machine.

In six out of the eight higher-energy rolls the test dummy incurred serious injuries where no OPD was fitted, four out of nine for the LifeGuard and three out of nine for the QuadBar.

There were also cases in all types of rollover, with and without OPDs, where the quad bike came to rest on the rider, in three of the 16 rollovers with no OPD and three out of 18 rollovers for both the LifeGuard and QuadBar.

The research highlights the value of OPDs, but also shows the greater risks riders face from rollovers when travelling at higher speeds.

US CPSC high-speed ATV rollover with Australian QuadBar.

Testing techniques involved forcing the quad bikes into J-turn-steering induced rollovers used high-speed sleds and remote-control vehicles on a dirt test site. The OPDs maintained their integrity during all rollovers.

Until now the only other research conducted into the effectiveness of OPDs was commissioned by the Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and conducted by US firm Dynamic Research Inc, using computer simulations of rollovers.

DRI conducted 3080 computer simulations to conclude that the QuadBar OPD “was found to have injury risks (in comparison to injury benefits) that were, for the simulation sample, greater than its injury benefits”.

DRI has one office in California, while S-E-A Limited has 300 staff across 12 offices, spread throughout the US.

The FCAI has campaigned for almost a decade against the fitting of OPDs to quadbikes, with its quad bike manufacturing members fearful they will face crippling or bankrupting lawsuits if the families of the dead, or those who have survived with life changing and lifetime care injuries ever find out there is a safety solution to rollover crashes and the industry have denied it from the quad bike user.

To see time-lapse images of ATV rollovers, go to page 55 of this report (PDF).