Farmers in Wales have voiced concerns regarding changes to EU quad bike changes. The proposed changes may mean that all quad bikes will have to meet the full road safety specifications and some farmers are worried that these changes could mean bikes being unstable on steeper ground.
There are farmers all over the UK, Scotland and Wales who rely on their ATVs for getting around their farms and looking after livestock. This often means travelling over hilly and steep terrain on them. Now farmers are asking the European Union to differentiate between quads that are used only for farming and those that are used on roads. Quads have always been a regular feature on many farms and without them many farmers livelihoods may be at risk.
There are numerous hills farms in Wales where the bikes are used to allow the farmers to reach and feed livestock and haul feed. The National Farmers Union of Wales believes that the new regulations may mean that ATVs would be unstable as they would be higher off the ground. Safety is always at the forefront of farmers minds and at the moment the quad bikes used on the farms means that famers are able to move their weight easily when traversing the hills while remaining lower to ground. This would not be so if the safety measures went ahead and farmers had to change their quads. Another change may mean smaller engines which may affect farmers as quads are used to pull trailers and smaller engines typically mean less power.