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Paediatric off-road vehicle injury in rural and regional Australia
Christopher S Mulligan1, Susan Adams2, Soundappan S V Soundappan3
1Neuroscience Research Australia, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Insights
Paediatric off-road vehicle crashes in Australia result in significant injuries, particularly to extremities, despite protective gear use. Further research is needed on gear effectiveness and child-specific risks in off-road riding.
Area of Science:
- Trauma and Injury Prevention
- Paediatric Health
- Rural Health
Background:
- Off-road vehicle (quad bike and motorcycle) riding is prevalent among children in rural Australia.
- This activity is a major cause of paediatric injury and hospitalisation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyse paediatric off-road vehicle crashes in New South Wales, Australia.
- Characterise injury patterns and sources to inform prevention strategies.
Main Methods:
- Prospective in-depth case series of hospitalised children (≤16 years).
- Utilised crash investigation techniques: medical data, interviews, vehicle/site inspections.
- Collected data on crash circumstances, protective gear, injuries, and contributing factors.
Main Results:
- Thirty children (27 boys, 3 girls, aged 4-16) hospitalised after off-road motorcycle or quad bike crashes.
- Most crashes (73.3%) occurred during unstructured social riding.
- 67 injuries observed, primarily to upper/lower extremities; common impact sources: ground, obstacles, vehicle.
- High rates of helmet and protective garment use were noted.
Conclusions:
- Paediatric off-road vehicle injuries occur despite high rates of protective gear use.
- Highlights the need to investigate the efficacy and fit of protective gear for children.
- Underscores inherent risks for physically and developmentally maturing children in off-road riding.
Objective:
Off-road riding of quad bikes and motorcycles is common among children across rural and remote Australia, but is a significant source of injury and hospitalisation. An in-depth analysis of paediatric off-road vehicle crashes was undertaken to inform injury prevention countermeasures by characterising injury patterns and sources of injury.
Design:
This is a prospective in-depth case series.
Participants:
Participants are children aged 16 and under who have been hospitalised due to injury sustained from the use of an off-road motorcycle or quad bike in New South Wales, Australia.
Interventions:
Crash investigation techniques (medical data, structured interview, vehicle and crash site inspection) were used to ascertain details of the crash event, protective gear, injury information and contributory factors.
Results:
Thirty children were recruited, 27 boys and 3 girls, ranging in age from 4 to 16 years, having crashed on off-road motorcycles (n = 27) or quads (n = 3). Most (73.3%) were participating in unstructured social riding. A total of 67 separate injuries were observed, with overall Injury Severity Scores between 1 and 35. There were high rates of wearing helmets and motorcycle-specific garments. The most commonly injured areas were the upper and lower extremities. The most common sources of injury were from impacting the ground, obstacles/other riders or the vehicle.
Conclusion:
This study demonstrates the patterns of riding and injury in rural paediatric off-road vehicle riders, occurring despite high rates of helmet/protective gear use. This underscores the need for investigation into the injury mitigation and fit properties of protective gear and the inherent risks for physically and developmentally maturing children.
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