A Tasmanian coroner has blasted the state government for failing to act on safety recommendations made several years ago following the death of a 14-year-old girl in an ATV crash.
Mount Stuart teenager Jocelyn Daguman died after being thrown from the ATV she was riding with a friend at Boyer, north of Hobart, on Regatta Day last year.
Coroner Robert Webster found that Daguman’s failure to wear a seatbelt was the “single most important factor” leading to her death.
“If she had worn a seatbelt she would not have been ejected from the vehicle,” he said.
“She would have remained within the cabin of the ATV and she would have been protected by it.”
Webster’s report revealed that Daguman had ridden the ATV owned by her neighbour several times, visiting his Boyer property regularly “because of her love of animals and an interest in outdoor pursuits”.
In the moments before the rollover, Daguman and her friend had swum in a watering hole on the property, after which she “wanted to do some doughnuts” in a paddock, the coroner said.
The friend said she could “remember looking at [Daguman] when we approached [a metal frame in the paddock] and she was frantically trying to steer the buggy as if she had lost control of it”.
Both teenagers were thrown from the ATV as it rolled, with neither wearing a seatbelt.
Emergency services were called to the scene, but Daguman could not be revived.
Webster’s report also highlighted the absence of safety features like cabin nets or doors, which were “expressly recommended” in the vehicle’s operator’s manual and could have prevented the fatal ejection.
He noted that while the state government has implemented some safety reforms, such as workplace regulations, more needs to be done.
The coroner pointed out that the government has not passed legislation to ban children under 16 from driving quad bikes or ATVs, despite a recommendation to do so from another coroner in 2017.
“For a number of years coroners in Australia have investigated many deaths associated with the use of ATVs or quad bikes,” Webster said.
“These vehicles have a tendency to tip or rollover when moving at speed, on rough terrain or across inclines. The rider or driver, having little protection, may be crushed under the vehicle when thrown from it or suffer fatal or serious injuries after being ejected.”
He again recommended that legislation be introduced requiring mandatory training and licensing of all persons using quad bikes and banning children under 16 from operating adult-size quad bikes.
Children between the ages of 6 and 16 should not operate smaller “youth size” bikes, while those younger should never ride, he said.
