Raphael Grzebieta (PhD) - Iceberg Events · Prof. Raphael Grzebieta (Team Leader), Associate Prof. George Rechnitzer, Dr. Soufiane Boufous, Keith Simmons, Prof. Andrew McIntosh, Dr

Raphael Grzebieta (PhD)Emeritus Professor, Transport & Road Safety (TARS) Research Centre - UNSW

Adjunct Professor, Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine - Monash University

Project Research Team MembersProf. Raphael Grzebieta (Team Leader), Associate Prof. George Rechnitzer, Dr. Soufiane Boufous, Keith Simmons,

Prof. Andrew McIntosh, Dr. David Hicks, Prof. Ann Williamson, Prof. Jake Olivier

Project SponsorsTony Williams (SafeWork NSW), Diane Vaughan (SafeWork NSW)

In-Field Operator Protective Device (OPD) Safety Survey of Australian and New Zealand Workplace Quad Bike Riders

17 test vehicles

- Eight ‘work’ Quad bikes

- Three rec/sport Quad bikes

- Five Side-by-Side Vehicles – (SSVs)

- Prototype Quad Bike – wider track, open/ lockable differential & suspension changes

The test program (approx. 1000 tests)

- Part 1 tests measured Static Rollover Stability

- Part 2 tests measured Dynamic Handling Stability

- Part 3 tests measured Rollover Crashworthiness(Coronial and injury data collection and analysis completed as supplementary report)

- The 4th stage – Australian Terrain Vehicle Assessment Program (ATVAP) safety ratings, which incorporates all three parts

Quad Bike Performance Project - Test Program

http://www.tars.unsw.edu.au/research/Current

/Quad-Bike_Safety/Performance_Project.html

Grzebieta R., Rechnitzer G., Simmons K. and McIntosh A.S., (2015a). “Final Summary Project Report: Test Results, Conclusions, and Recommendations”, Quad Bike Performance Project TARS Research Report No 4, submitted to the WorkCover Authority of New South Wales, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Quad Bike Performance Project (TARS UNSW)Investigated Closed Coroner Cases (Aus)

• 109 complete fatality cases from 2000 - 2012

• Police reports, pathology reports, coronial findings, photographs and witness statements reviewed

• Activity: 54 Farm work; 55 Recreational

• Main injury mechanism: Rollover (71%) n = 77 resulting in being Pinned and/or Asphyxia

54 riders were “pinned” by the vehicle (from 109 cases reviewed)

30 cases of asphyxia in total

37 pinned from 54 farm work fatalities

20 farm asphyxia cases with no or minor injuryIndustry (FCAI) claimed

there were no asphyxiations!

Operator Protection Devices (OPD)

• Considerable interest in the farming community and workplace for the fitment of OPDs

• In principle, it appears such systems may have a protective benefit in rollover crashes from QBPP test results.

Quadbar TRAX LifeGuard

Quad Bike Safety Survey Project

• Small progress made in reducing rollover incidents – mostly via education/media/training

• Some progress made in regards to reducing crash severity & fatalities – rebates for OPDs, helmets, Side by Side Vehicles

• Controversy still remained regarding claimed harm of OPDs & their effectiveness. Strongly opposed by the Quad bike manufacturers as unsafe based mainly on computer simulations (FCAI), i.e. virtual reality as opposed to real world.

• FCAI funded regular court appearances as defendants against OPDs and various attempts to discredit our research in the press and social media!

Source: Safe Work Australia https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/quad-bike-fatality-data

TARS QBPP reports released.

NSW Quad bike rebate introduced.

Victoria Quad bike rebate introduced soon after.


Survey of Australian and New Zealand workplace riders

• Primary objective of this survey-based study project was to identify if fitment of rollbars (OPDs) caused harm to riders in a rollover crash in the workplace environment and to what extent are rollbars protective in rollover incidents involving quad bikes

• Secondary object was to assess the effectiveness of helmets in regards to preventing head injuries

• Response to the lack of information on in-field OPD performance in rollover crashes and helmet effectiveness in all crashes as opposed to published findings from computer modelling and tests proposed by FCAI


The project started in May 2016 after

receiving ethics approval

Approval received in July 2016 for NZ

Report officially released June 2017

http://www.tars.unsw.edu.au/news/2017/Quad-Bike-

Survey_Report.html


• Survey study comprised of responses from three ‘high exposure’ workplace categories:

Sub-study (i): Case Study Quad bike Tour Company with 20 years of crash history data. Now servicing 25,000 patrons/year

Sub-study (ii): Quad bike Fleet Managers Survey of 12 Australian and 4 NZ companies

- 436 Quad bikes total

- majority fitted with Quadbar (167) or Lifeguard OPD (150)

Sub-study (iii): Main Rider Survey on line via internet (1,546 individual workplace Quad bike riders)

Sub-study (i): Case study major Quad bike tour company

Sub-study (i): Case study major Quad bike tour company

Sub-study (ii): Quad bike Fleet Managers Survey

• Intent of survey: identify from large users of Quad bikes with OPDs (high exposure) whether OPDs in the field were resulting in serious injuries

• Provide ‘first glimpse’ overview of ‘in field’ data prior to the much broader Sub-study (iii) survey

• 57 rollover crashes no OPD

• 12 crashes with OPD

• Managers asked whether OPD prevented or caused injury

• Responses: OPD prevented injury in 10 of 12 rollover cases:

o 8 cases OPD stopped Quad bike rolling onto the rider

o 2 cases held Quad bike off rider during rollover

o 1 case made no difference to crash outcome

Injury severity by OPD type


Fleet Manager’s response regarding effectiveness of OPD in preventing or causing an injury

Serious Injury (1):

Quadbar jammed suspension.

Rider claimed without Quadbar

injuries would have been worse.


Individual Workplace Riders Survey

o rider demographics

o Quad bike type

o usage for work (commodity group, work tasks performed, etc.)

o whether an OPD was installed

o whether a helmet was worn or not in a crash and its type

o the terrain over which the Quad bike ridden

o load carrying & passenger carrying

o detailed information relating to any incidents involving Quad bike for up to three of their most recent incidents, injuries and their type and severity

o If injuries resulted from the crash caused by an OPD

o head injuries with and without a helmet

o and a large amount of other safety relevant information

Questionnaire designed to gathered information on:

Sub-study (iii): Individual Workplace Riders Survey

Crash history of the 1,546 respondents (riders)49% experienced no crashes 51% experienced a total 1,430 crashes


Of the 51% experienced a total 1,430 crashesCrash history of the 1,546 respondents (riders)

868 rollover crashes with NO OPD fitted & rider was injured 55 serious injuries (hospitalised) and 123 minor injuries


Of those 55 serious injuries 24 had serious chest injuries

where in 20 of these the Quad bike ‘rolled over the rider’

Trend is significant


Van Ee at al (2012) / SVIA / FCAI inference HIGH RISK

Multivariate Regression Analysis Key Statistically Significant Results



RISK OF CRASHING



RISK OF CRASHING


RISK OF ANY INJURY



RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY (hospitalisation)


Not OK to let Quad Bike roll over rider! UNACCEPTABLE HAZARD

Van Ee at al (2012) / SVIA / FCAI inference that it is OK to allow Quad bike to roll over rider HIGH RISK

Industry Perspective: Quad bike rolling over the rider OK

Van Ee C., Toomey D. and Moroski-Browne B., (2012). “ATV Rollover, Operator Response, and Determinants of Injury: Implications for SCPDs”, Presentation from Design Research and Engineering of work sponsored by the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), at US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s The ATV Safety Summit, Bethesda, USA. https://www.cpsc.gov/content/atv-safety-summit-vehicle-technology-roll-over-protection (At 50 minute mark into presentation)

Inferred that this is OK!

Van Ee at al. (funded by SVIA)

demonstrated in 2012 to the US

Consumer Product Safety Commission

at ATV summit in Bethesda USA how a

Quad bike rolling over a rider did not

injure the rider

https://www.cpsc.gov/content/atv-safety-summit-vehicle-technology-roll-over-protection

SSF of Quad Bikes/ SSVs – comparison to NHTSA’s Mengert for cars, SUVs & trucks?

0.3 1.0 1.5

NHTSA data on rollovers per Single-vehicle crash estimated from Six states, adjusted for differences in road use or State reporting.

Quads SSVs

SUVsUtes … Sedans

Trucks

LOWER stability

HIG

H

risk

HIGHER stability

LOW

risk

Crash history of the 1,546 respondents (riders)Of the 51% experienced a total 1,430 crashes: Helmet use


Crash history of the 1,546 respondents (riders)Of the 51% experienced a total 1,430 crashes: Helmet use


Key ConclusionsImportantly:

o No fatalities recorded in any previous studies or this study attributed to or

associated with OPD

o No serious chest or head injury attributed to or associated with OPD

o In field study data indicates that with increasing rollover crash severity the

Quadbar or Lifeguard OPDs becomes increasingly more protective of the

rider receiving serious chest injuries

o Quad bike specific helmets appear to reduced the incidence of head

injuries.

Policy – New Australian federal government Consumer Goods law for Quad bikes - minimum Static Stability requirement, mandatory fitment of OPD & labelling

https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2019L01321

https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2019L01321

Questions?

Documents

Raphael Grzebieta (PhD) - Iceberg Events · Prof. Raphael Grzebieta (Team Leader), Associate Prof. George Rechnitzer, Dr. Soufiane Boufous, Keith Simmons, Prof. Andrew McIntosh, Dr