Media release 2 June 2019
The call for Myley's law should be fully supported by Federal and State legislators to help prevent such tragedies in the future.
The No to OPD's campaign supports regulations that No child under the age of 16 years should be allowed to ride an adult size quadbike, that passengers should be prohibited from single seat machines, and that every quad bike rider should be wearing a safety helmet and have undergone safe rider training.
Myley Maxwell's death is a tragedy which the Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan highlighted last week. She recommended that the NSW Attorney General consider introducing legislation to make it an offence for adults to allow children to ride any quadbike without a helmet, and for police to enter properties which they suspect an offence had occurred.
No to OPD campaign supports this call and for the introduction of mandatory regulations by the Federal and State governments to ensure there is uniformity in the laws throughout Australia on the wearing of safety helmets, no kids or passengers on inappropriate machines and rider training courses.
Sadly, the findings of three previous State Coronial Inquests recommending a ban on kids under 16 from riding adult quad bikes, banning passengers and mandating helmets have so far been ignored by those State governments responsible.
Due to the lack of State safety agency actions on these recommendations, various state governments and the ACCC want engineering solutions that have no safety benefit, and would have failed to improve outcomes in this very sad case.
According to Coronial reports on the contributing factors to quad bike fatalities; if kids and passengers were kept off adult and single seat quad bikes, and all riders wore helmets, the number of fatalities would be cut by half immediately.
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Background: The No to OPDs – Ban the Bar group is made up of a number of like-minder farmers and industry groups that are encouraging quad bike riders and others to make a submission to the ACCC by June 10 against the introduction of OPDs and supporting mandatory regulations on the wearing of safety helmets and rider education.
