A new study has found that 25% of all major quad bike related injuries in Ireland in 2014-2019 involved children. Author of the study Enda Hession said this was an alarming revelation, as three of these minors were under the age of nine.

Trauma cases

There were 69 quad bike-related trauma cases that met the study criteria over the six years, the majority of which were males (91%) with a median age of 27.

The head was the most severely injured body region overall and in 47% of cases a helmet was not worn. In patients who were wearing helmets, only one suffered a head injury.

“The big thing to remember with this study is that these injuries are at the higher end of severity and are major trauma cases. In terms of head injuries, you’re talking about traumatic bleeds, bruising to the brain, fractures of the skull - significant brain injuries essentially.

“They’re not simple concussions, these were patients who were very unwell,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

According to the study, quad bike deaths represented 19% of all farm vehicle fatalities between 2010 and 2017 within Ireland.