Towards the end of the summer holiday season, The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) issued a warning to British holidaymakers regarding the dangers of hiring mopeds whilst abroad. They also advised that tourists should only use quad bikes when part of a pre-arranged excursion.
It has been reported by ABTA that 4.5 million tourists from the UK have hired mopeds or quad bikes whilst holidaying abroad.
During the month of July, a total of four British holidaymakers were killed or injured in three separate quad biking incidents and three people were injured or killed in Thailand this year alone following moped accidents.
The report by ABTA stated that there were 36 reported quad bike accidents and 7 reported moped accidents during 2017. However, these are only the reported incidents and the actual number of accidents is likely to be much higher.
Kieran Roche, who was just 19 years old, died on the Greek island of Crete in July when he was involved in an accident whilst using a quad bike.
And in January of this year, Ross Davidson from Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland had to have his leg amputated when his moped hit a pothole in Pai, in northern Thailand.
Nikki White from ABTA commented:
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.
Its so easy when you’re relaxing on holiday to do things that 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 about hiring these vehicles, and only ride quad bikes if they are part of a properly supervised off-road excursion.
It is important to note that road traffic accidents abroad may be subject to different laws depending on the country where the accident took place and the nationalities of the parties involved, and time bar limits for the country where your accident occurred may be shorter than in the UK. Under some circumstances, even if your accident did occur abroad, you may well still be able to pursue a claim through the Scottish Courts.
If you have been involved in a road traffic accident abroad, please contact our experienced personal injury lawyers on 0800 988 8082 to pursue a claim.
