The British Travel Association ABTA is urging people to think twice before hiring mopeds overseas, and to only ride quad bikes as part of an organised excursion.
The warning comes after a spate of incidents involving holidaymakers, some of which have been fatal. ABTA members reported 36 quad bike incidents and seven moped incidents in 2017. So far in 2018, seven people have been involved in reported quad bike incidents on the road. ABTA believes the total number of incidents could be much higher.
“Every year people suffer serious injuries after hiring mopeds or quad bikes while on holiday. Many have little experience of using these vehicles and are also unfamiliar with the local roads and driving standards,” said Nikki White, ABTA Director of Destinations and Sustainability. “It’s so easy when you’re relaxing on holiday to do things you wouldn’t dream of doing back home; but you are putting yourself at risk of serious injury if you hire these vehicles, and on top of that, many travel insurance policies won’t cover such activities. We’re advising holidaymakers who have little experience on mopeds to think twice before hiring these vehicles, and only ride quad bikes if they are part of a properly supervised off-road excursion.”
According to ABTA, younger adults are most likely to put themselves at risk, with one in seven (16 percent) British 18-24 year-olds who have taken an overseas holiday in the last 12 months saying they hired either a quad bike or moped.
The ABTA says quad bikes have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly in Greece, Cape Verde and Turkey.
