Authors: Dr Shahera Banu Last updated on 24 June 2021
Background
Quad bike-related crashes are still a major cause of accidental deaths and serious injuries on Australian farms. In Australia since 2011 there have been a 161 recorded quad bike deaths, including 24 children under 16 years of age (Safe Work Australia – current as at 18 March 2021)*. About 50% of these fatalities were workers and 11% were children aged 11 years or under. Rollover due to losing control of a quad bike was the leading cause of quad bike fatalities (Safe Work Australia)*. It has been 5 years since an in-depth analysis of quad bike related injuries was conducted in Queensland. The following snapshot shows contemporaneous trends in Quad bike related injury hospitalisations in the most recent 5 years. *https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/quad-bikes
Key findings
Between 01 Jan 2016 and 31 Dec 2020:
- 2,645 quad bikes related injury hospitalisations occurred in Qld public acute hospitals.
- Males aged between 15-24 years had the highest incidence.
- About 10% of hospitalisation in each year were work related and more than 20% were due to sports and leisure activities.
- Fracture was identified as the main injury (N=1,275, 48%).
- 6% of hospitalisations were funded by health service budget and 14.4% were covered by private health insurance.
Key figures
Trends over time
About us
The Jamieson Trauma Institute (JTI) connects clinicians, researchers, government and industry partners striving to advance trauma prevention, research and clinical management, to deliver the best possible care for people who experience traumatic injury. JTI was established with funding from the Motor Accident Insurance Commission and Metro North Hospital and Health Service. For further information, contact: Jamieson_trauma_institute@health.qld.gov.au
Data scope and definitions
This overview was produced by the Jamieson Trauma Institute, in consultation with the Statistical Services Branch, Queensland Health using Queensland Hospital Admitted Patient Data Collection (QHAPDC) (derived subset of data tables comprising injury related hospital admissions from all public acute hospitals excluding Mater South Brisbane Hospitals). Data Scope
- Includes episodes of admitted patient care with separation date between 01 Jan 2016 & 31 Dec 2020.
- Quad bike related hospitalisation is defined by ICD-10-AM principal diagnosis code between S00-T98 with first external cause code V86 or third external cause code U650.
- Includes acute care type episodes only (excludes newborns with qualified days).
- Data from 1 July 2020 are preliminary and subject to change.
- This overview presents raw counts and percentages, not age standardised rates, as data relate to episodes of care and not individual patients.
