Sixteen Australians are killed annually in quad crashes, prompting the ACCC to propose compulsory fitting of crush protection devices, minimum performance standards and a guarantee that all wheels can spin at different speeds.
But two representative bodies on the safety panel -- the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and a US industry expert, Scott Kebschull -- have quit the group set up to improve safety.
FCAI chief executive Tony Weber says he has no confidence in the process suggested by the ACCC, which he claims is “promoting untested manufacturing changes”.
In a statement, the ACCC argued that the industry had long sought to hold off regulatory intervention and had not changed quad design in the last decade. It said cars, trucks, motorcycles and tractors are all subject to strict safety standards while quads are unregulated.
The FCAI said it would not oppose a star rating system for quads if it were like the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) and based on “proper science and known history”.
It said a similar discussion in the 1980s and 90s in the US -- the largest market for quads -- had failed to remedy the problem of crashes.
But measures adopted there had resulted in a 50% lower death toll: 47 states had banned children from riding adult machines, banned passengers on single-seat machines and enforced the wearing of suitable safety helmets.
FCAI has accused the ACCC of bias because it part-funded work by the University of NSW’s transport and road safety unit that led to the star-rating proposals.
Weber says the FCAI will keep working with the government in a flexible and open way on proposed manufacturing changes but not as part of the advisory group.
