A quad bike is a vehicle with four wheels that possesses a maximum power of 15kW and was designed to be used as a goods carrier. Since its creation, however, the quad bike has become a commodity that has gained a dangerous reputation. This has resulted in some horrifying news reports which only further fuels the government’s tight restrictions on quad bike use.
Taking a quad bike out on the roads and off-road, however, is perfectly legal when you follow the rules. Here is everything you need to know before taking your quad bike out for a spin.
What you need to ride on the roads
Registration
Quad bikes must be registered with the DVLA and must be clearly fitted with front and rear number plates.
MOT
For any quad bikes older than three years old, they’ll need a valid MOT certificate to be used on any public road.
Drivers Licence
As with any vehicle, you’ll need a valid driving licence to ride on the roads. This can be either a full car driving license or a category B1 licence if it happened to be issued before January 1997.
Insurance
You’ll need to get the right quad bike insurance to ensure that if a crash occurred involving your quad bike, both you and the other driver in the altercation can make a claim.
Crash helmets
While these are not a legal requirement, we highly recommend that you do wear them to keep yourself safe. Even if you are a great driver, other people might not be that good and could crash into you. Don’t leave your life to chance, protect yourself with a helmet.
What about off-road riding?
Whilst recreational use of quad bikes on private land only requires the approval of the landowner, the rules for driving a quad bike off-road for work come with some regulations of its own.
If your quad bike is being used for agriculture, horticulture or forestry work then you must register it as a light agricultural vehicle with the DVLA. On top of this, you won’t have to pay any vehicle tax as long as you stay off the public roads. The final rule is that all light agricultural vehicles must be built to fit one person: the driver. Under no circumstances can a passenger ride on a quad bike for work purposes.