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Australian Authorities Ask for a Safety Star Rating for ATVs

Deputy New South Wales coroner ­Sharon Freund recommended that ATVs and SxSs in Australia received a safety star rating system. Her claims are backed by evidence gathered from a series of fatal accidents involving such vehicles.
ATV crash 1 photo
Photo: YouTube capture
Ms. Freund says that both safety authorities and work health ones should lobby the implementation of such a safety rating system. The key factors that seem to lead to crashes with fatal consequences are stability and handling, the same source mentions.

She called on the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and Polaris, one of the biggest manufacturers of ATVs and side-by-side vehicles, which is not a part of the FCAI to develop the generic guidelines for such an undertaking.

Some believe that the need for a safety star rating system is a matter of a lesser importance, with training being the main factor to avoid the crashes. This is, down to a certain point, true, but knowing how deceiving ATVs can be at times, we also incline in favor of this safety rating system.

The National Farmers’ Federation, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety support the move

So far, the idea received support and back-up from the National Farmers’ Federation, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety. Still, such a safety standard has to work for all comparable vehicles, for the sake of consistency and coherence.

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber adds, "The FCAI is interested in the development of a star rating for ATVs and side-by-side vehicles provided the ratings being awarded are supported by real-world information about the safety and comparative performance of a vehicle."

Implementing a safety star rating system could also help customers make better-informed choices and understand better the risks riding these vehicles comes with.
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