A coroner has repeated a recommendation that anti-roll bars should be fitted to all quad bikes after hearing evidence at an inquest on Monday into the death of an 86-year-old US citizen on Achill Island, Co Mayo, last June.
Michael J Gallagher, Sausalito, California, died from multiple injuries after his quad bike entered a drain on the approach road to Purteen Harbour on June 30th.
Mr Gallagher had been visiting relatives in Achill and was on his way to the harbour to participate with friends in a sea angling expedition when the quad bike he was riding toppled over.
On his final day as coroner for the district of Mayo, before his retirement, Pat O’Connor said that unfortunately during his time as a coroner, there had been a number of fatalities involving quad bikes.
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He added that in most cases the bikes involved had not been fitted with anti-roll bars.
“The manufacturers should be fitting anti-roll bars as I recommended previously,” he said. “I do believe these deaths could have been avoided.”
Mr O’Connor said his previous recommendation that anti-roll bars should be compulsory on all quad bikes had met considerable opposition in Australia when his views were publicised there.
He maintained: “The number of quad bike injuries and deaths could be reduced if there was a stringent ant-roll bar requirement.”
The inquest into Mr Gallagher’s death was opened and adjourned by the coroner.
The substantive inquest hearing, when further evidence will be given and a verdict returned, was adjourned to a later date.
At the time of Mr. Gallagher’s death his family in California described him as “passionate for food, wine, the sea and people to share it with”.
The deceased had lived a “life full of cinematic adventure”, his death notice in the San Francisco Chronicle read and, at the time of his death, was en route to “another fishing excursion”.
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