Surgeons say children should not be allowed on quad-bikes.

A new report has found that children living in the Northern Territory are nearly 12 times more likely to be hurt riding a dirt bike, quad bike or motorbike than they are to be injured on a waterslide.

The Centre for Disease Control's (CDC) Northern Territory Paediatric Injury Surveillance Project 2016 Report used patient data from kids aged 0-15 who presented at Darwin’s emergency department (ED).

There were 39 motorbike or dirt-bike related presentations in 2016, 20 ATV-related incidents, five injuries involving a waterslide and 13 classed as drowning or immersion.

“The dry season — May to September — lends itself to more outdoor activities such as camping, high-impact sport and exercise activities and it is possible that this may explain the marginally more (54 per cent) paediatric injury presentations seen during this period,” the CDC's report read.

“Sunday was the most common day for paediatric injury presentation to the RDH ED.”

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons spokesman Associate Professor Warwick Teague just 20 children presented to Royal Darwin Hospital with ATV-related injures in 2016, but he believes the true figure is probably much higher.

“Knowing people that work in the emergency room at Royal Darwin Hospital, I suspect that the actual rate of injury is greater than is being reflected there — which, of course, is worse news,” he said.

“They are seeing a concerning number of quad-bike injuries.”

Professor Teague said all Australian children need to be banned from using the “death traps”.

“Quad bikes and kids are a deadly mix,” he said.

The Federal Government recently announced that all new bikes will have to have roll bars within two years, and display stability test results in the vehicle within a year.