A STUDY of all-terrain vehicle accidents in New Zealand has revealed children and quad bikes can be a dangerous combination.

Dr Kate Anson, from the Alice Springs Hospital, examined the cases of 212 children who were injured in ATV, or quad bike, crashes in New Zealand between 2000 and 2006.

Dr Anson's research found many of the accidents were a result of children riding adult-sized ATVs without supervision and the appropriate safety gear.

Most of the quad bike crashes Dr Anson looked at involved children suffering broken limbs and soft tissue injuries.

But six of the children in the study suffered permanent disabilities including below-the-knee amputations, brain damage and blindness.

Dr Anson's research follows the recent release of the Victorian Coroner's findings, which called for ATVs to be renamed quad bikes.

The Coroner, John Ollie, reported the findings after an inquest into several quad bike-related deaths in the past eight years in Victoria and Tasmania.

Mr Olle said that to describe a quad bike as an all-terrain-vehicle was a "serious overstatement of its capabilities".

In response to the Coroner's report, quad bike manufacturers and distributors are working to make their use safer.

James Goodwin, communications manager for the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Canberra, said a formal response to the coroner was being developed.

"ATV or quad bike suppliers advocate safety principles but the process is ongoing as there is still legal action pending from the Coroner's report," Mr Goodwin said.

"We are working on a code of practice and other changes such as making the wearing of helmets and pre-purchase training legal requirements," Mr Goodwin said.