Gardai have logged more than 140 incidents and offences involving quad bikes or scramblers in the past two years and warned parents against buying them as Christmas presents.
The Road Safety Authority and gardai said that they should not be considered toys.
“They are powerful MPVs [multi-purpose vehicles] and in inexperienced hands or on unsuitable terrain they have the potential to severely or even fatally injure someone,” Michael Finn, an assistant garda commissioner, said. “The last thing anyone wants is a tragedy, especially at Christmas, involving one of these motor vehicles,” he added.
Concern about the dangers of high-powered vehicles being used by teenagers has grown after a number of fatal accidents.
Warren Kenny, 16, from Ballyfermot, Dublin, died on Christmas Day last year after his scrambler bike collided with another vehicle near Summerhill.
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In July, Keith Robinson, 24, a mechanic, was killed after his quad bike crashed while he was riding on a road near his home at Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone, in Northern Ireland.
Less than two weeks later, Valerie Armstrong, a mother of three, died after being struck by a scrambler motorbike while walking her dog in Colin Glen forest park near west Belfast.
Since January last year gardai said it had recorded five other incidents in which people were seriously injured as a result of a collision involving such vehicles.
Twelve people had been charged with dangerous driving involving either a scrambler or quad bike over the same period. In addition, 64 individuals were charged for having no insurance or breaching general bylaws.
It is illegal to use such bikes on a public road without tax, insurance and a driving licence. Users must also be over 16 years and wear a helmet.
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Under the Road Traffic Act 2014 it is also an offence to sell or supply a mechanically propelled vehicle to a minor. Anyone convicted of such a crime is liable for a fine of up to €3,000 and/or six months in prison.
Frances Fitzgerald, the justice minister, said last month that gardai have been instructed not to pursue anyone using the vehicles in a public park. She claimed garda authorities had told her that they had found it difficult to enforce a ban on the bikes in such locations.
“Garda members are instructed not to pursue youths on quad bikes and scramblers owing to the inherent safety risk in pursuing these vehicles. If such pursuits were to take place, there would be a high risk of these ending in collisions at speed resulting in serious injury or death, so the opportunity to bring these vehicles to a stop is rare,” she said.
A garda spokesman declined to comment on this specific issue yesterday.
Moyagh Murdock, chief executive of the Road Safety Authority said that while mini-motorised vehicles might seem like a bit of fun, they were powerful machines.
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“We are not trying to be the Grinch at Christmas or tell parents what to buy their children. What we are trying to do is raise awareness of a serious road safety issue,” she said. “Under no circumstances should a child be riding these vehicles as they simply do not have the skills, the strength or the reaction speed to be able to handle them.”