Dave Moore, a scientist at Scion Centre for Human Factors and Ergonomics, said on-farm handling of the rural workhorse was incompatible with its design as a recreational vehicle, and farmers tended to learn how to operate them by trial and error.
The Department of Labour has called quad bikes the "single most worrying trend in work-related accidents in agriculture," and Dr Moore's research revealed accidents were responsible for hundreds of farm injuries and several fatalities every year.
Their costs to ACC have doubled in the last five years but of more concern was the doubling in payout for existing claims, compared to new, an indication that injuries were more severe and recovery was taking longer.
Dr Moore said this could be due to the ageing farmer-population - "older people don't bounce like younger ones" - and quad bikes getting heavier and their engines more powerful, resulting in more serious accidents.
This was the first research to use interviews and accident reconstructions to supply data, something Dr Moore said surprised him, given media coverage about the machines and their associated dangers.
"There had been plenty of media attention on quad bike accidents over the years, so it was amazing to find how little research of any substance had been undertaken on-site at farms," he said.
As part of his work, Dr Moore drew on skills in forensics and air accident investigations, and as a result found 71 areas in which bikes could be made safer, including modifications, rider training, regulation, and re-organising farm work and management.
Part of the problem was the perception quad bikes appeared more error-tolerant than they actually were.
"Unfortunately, quad bikes can be too error-intolerant. For example, unlike larger wheel-based vehicles, the quad will often tip before it slides, potentially trapping the operator.
"They [riders] don't have as much opportunity to learn from mistakes as they expect."
The design needed to include greater error tolerance and take account of how the machines were used, including more regulation for the accessory market.
"Trailers and other add-on designs should be proven to match buyers' expectations. At the moment, many farmers buy in good faith and are too likely to get an unpleasant surprise."
Improving the skills of operators and providing specific training would also help, he said.
ACC, the Department of Labour and the Agricultural Health and Safety Council (AHSC) were looking to adopt some of Dr Moore's suggestions into their policies and guidelines.
The New Zealand market was small on an international scale, but Dr Moore said if enough customers started requesting safety features, he hoped manufacturers would start taking note.
Asked what three things they would like, farmers said greater stability, more forgiving performance on hills and more storage.
No-one asked for more speed or power, yet bikes were getting faster and more powerful.