Quadbar is a safety bar for quad bikes that helps protect the rider.
What are WorkSafe saying?
In May this year, WorkSafe issued a policy clarification regarding crush protection devices (CPDs) on quad bikes. The policy clarifies WorkSafe’s expectations about installing CPDs on quad bikes used for work. You should read this policy if you use quad bikes for work. Together with WorkSafe, ACC is offering a subsidy of $180 per CPD
What does this mean?
If a worker is injured on your farm and you do not have a CPD, it is very likely you will have been deemed to not have provided adequate protection for your workers! Apply here for your ACC subsidy. Once you have applied ACC will confirm your eligibility and send more information, and you can go ahead and purchase a quadbar.
The original Quadbar
The original Quadbar is a small unobtrusive, hairpin shaped hoop mounted on the quad bike behind the rider designed to counter some of the risks associated with rollovers. We have been selling these for over eight years with many examples of people saying they work well. (Price is $635.00 +gst and freight charge)
The new Flexi Bar
The new Quadbar Flexi has a flexible joint that allows the bar to flex rearwards in the event of contact with an overhead obstacle. The top pipe can also be taken off easily to get the quad bike in a vehicle for transportation
The joint also facilitates some sideways flexibility before the joint locks and then becomes a traditional CPD meeting or ROPS.
Ingeniously, in the event of a rearwards overturn there is negligible movement form the flexi joint. (price is $780.00 +gst and frieght charge)
Quad bike accidents have claimed 45 lives and caused 17,000 injuries in the last decade mostly in the farming community. Either of these simple devices will help save lives.
how does it work?
The Quadbar acts as a Passive Roll Over Protective Structure (PROPS) as opposed to the more commonly known Roll Over Protective Structures (ROPS). A typical ROPS would require a full cage and driver restraint, which are not feasible on a rider active vehicle such as a quad bike.
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The Quadbar is mounted on the tow bar and is telescopically adjustable at the base. A support mount is attached to the rear rack, where the bar passes through sliding collars (bushes), which subsequently allow the suspension to move freely. The use of the tow bar is not affected by attachment of the Quadbar.
The Quadbar is designed to reduce the risk of injury caused by rollovers. Research has identified injury caused by the pinning of the rider to be of particular concern. (ref: Risk and preventive factors for fatalities in All-terrain Vehicle Accidents in New Zealand, 2009. Boaz Shulruf, Andrew Balemi). Also injuries from quadbike backflips are particularly common (ref Coronial Inquest – Melb)
The Quadbar has been designed to help prevent the operator from being pinned beneath an overturned quadbike. It is also designed to reduce crushing and pinning injuries and fatalities in cases of quadbike back flip. The Quadbar has particular application where usage is generally considered safe, and the rollover is inadvertent, such as work place environments like farms and forestry and some limited types of recreational use like touring. The Quadbar cannot be fitted to the sports type bike where the operation is generally considered risky.
The Quadbar is essentially a bolt on attachment. Currently 1 kit should fit most bikes that are fitted with a tow bar & rack. However some of the less popular bikes may require variations of the brackets.
Testing has shown that the Quadbar can be effective in preventing a quadbike from rolling more than a ¼ roll. For example during testing, the Yamaha Moto 250 completed 2 full rolls on a 20 degree or 36% slope without a Quadbar, but only ¼ of a roll with a Quadbar fitted. When the momentum is increased past the point when the Quadbar prevents more than a ¼ roll, the testing showed that the quadbike continued to roll past ½ roll, and in most cases ¾ roll to a full roll, which effectively reduces the chances of a quadbike pinning a rider. The momentum of the roll was also slowed and a space between the quadbike and the ground was maintained.