Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of mandating the compulsory use of helmets for motorists using a quad bike.

The Motor Cycles (Protective Helmets) Regulations 1988, which require motorcyclists to wear a helmet, do not apply to quad bikes as they fall outside the definition given of a motor bicycle, which is defined as a “two-wheeled motorcycle”. However, The Highway Code (Rule 83) does include advice that riders and passengers of motor tricycles and quadricycles, also called quad bikes, should wear a protective helmet.

There are no immediate plans to make the wearing of helmets compulsory but we are keeping the position under review; there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration such as, the level of use, the safety of riders in a collision and the availability or otherwise of seat belts.