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A bullbar or push bumper (also (kanga)roo bar, winch bar or nudge bar in Australia, moose bumper in Canada, livestock stop (initially a term used to refer to locomotive pilots) or kangaroo device in Russia, and push bar, ram bar, brush guard, grille guard, cactus pusher, rammer, PIT bar, PIT bumper, or cattle pusher in the United States) is a device installed on the front of a vehicle to protect its front from collisions, whether an accidental collision with a large animal in rural roads, or an intentional collision by police with another vehicle. They range considerably in size and form, and are normally composed of welded
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
or
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
tubing, or, more recently, moulded
polycarbonate
Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily work ...
and
polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...
materials. The "bull" in the name refers to
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
, which in rural areas sometimes roam onto rural roads and highways.
Safety and legality
Studies have shown that using bull bars increases the risk of death and serious injury to pedestrians. This is because the bull bar is rigid, and so transmits all the force to the pedestrian, unlike a bumper which resists some force and crumples. Due to the number of deaths and injuries caused by the rigid fronts of cars, often with metal bullbars (2,000 deaths and 18,000 serious accidents per year in Europe, according to official studies in the UK), the sale of new metal bullbars which did not comply with a European Union Directive was banned in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. However, in the United Kingdom the sale and refitting of second-hand bars manufactured before 2007 or the use of pre-2007 bars already fitted is permitted as per the current MOT guidelines: "It is not illegal for vehicles to be fitted with bull bars, although the Department would not recommend their fitment unless it has been shown, through compliance with specified safety standards, that they do not pose an additional risk of injury to pedestrians or other vulnerable road users. There are no plans for legislation to require bull bars that are already fitted to be removed."
Design and terminology
![Bull bar roo bar on b double](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Bull_bar_roo_bar_on_b_double.JPG)
Where cattle are more prominent and where larger
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
vehicles are used, drivers use larger steel bullbars.
Brushbars (or bush bars) are similar to bullbars, often integrated into the bull bar design. They protect the front of the vehicle, especially headlights, from brush and small trees.
"Nudge bars", another kind of bullbar, are generally fitted to sedans and small
SUV
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
s, and consist of light aluminium or polycarbonate tubing that protects only the radiator grille and areas without replacing the bumper bar. Bullbars typically replace the front bumper or fender, so most require indicator light housings.
Bullbars are sometimes used as a platform for mounting
spotlight
Spotlight or spot light may refer to:
Lighting
* Spot lights, automotive auxiliary lamps
* Spotlight (theatre lighting)
* Spotlight, a searchlight
* Stage lighting instrument, stage lighting instruments, of several types
Art, entertainment, an ...
s and vehicle recovery
winch
A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable").
In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attache ...
es.
Radio antennas
In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies a ...
for equipment such as
CB radios are often mounted onto bullbars, even though mounting on the roof provides better performance.
Bullbars incorporating a winch are often known as "winch bumpers", especially in the UK where the sale of bullbars that do not meet European standards, as mentioned above, was banned since 2007. However, the legislation was not retrospective, and steel frontal protection systems can still be legal, for instance when incorporating a winch fitting.
As a safety feature, traditional bars are built to protect the vehicle, which is considered less safe than allowing controlled deformation to absorb kinetic energy during a collision. Modern design of bullbars and roo bars has advanced, so some vehicle manufacturers and aftermarket companies now offer impact bars which integrate with the vehicle safety system, such as activation of
airbags
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. T ...
after collision with the bullbar. Plastic bullbars made from materials such as
polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...
are designed to act like a spring and deflect due to the force of a collision so that the vehicle is still driveable after striking an animal. These designs are more "pedestrian friendly" than the same vehicle without any bullbar.
[ Autoweb article about design awards]
Smart Bar research page
There are many aspects relating to the proper construction of a bullbar. It is widely accepted that the channel section which provides the strength for the protection system must be constructed from one piece of material and free from sections bolted on or welded together. The thickness of the material is something which should be considered when choosing a bullbar, generally the thicker the material, the stronger the product delivering greater protection. The grade of material is also important, products manufactured from steel or hi-tensile/structural grade alloys are stronger than a standard alloy or polymer products. Bull bars are popular among the SUV and truck owners in the U.S. and installation of a bull bar is not considered a modification, as this is bolt-on accessory. The most popular materials of the US-built bull bars are polished stainless steel and mild steel with black powder coating. Some states require license plate relocation from the body to the bull bar. However, all states allow installation of aftermarket bull bars as of 2018.
In recent times bullbars have become popular also as a cosmetic accessory, particularly on the larger four wheel drive and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). Studies and media attention to them and their role in increasing pedestrian deaths led to an agreement with the European Union among carmakers not to install them on new vehicles from January 1, 2002. This was followed by a full EU ban on the sale of rigid bullbars (e.g., by aftermarket fitters). Vehicles that already had them fitted prior to the ban remain legal.
Police usage
A push bumper or nudge bar is fitted to the chassis of the car and located to augment the front bumper, to allow the car to be used as a battering ram for simple structures or fences, or to push disabled vehicles off the road.
The
PIT maneuver, Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) bumper attaches to the front frame of a patrol car. It is designed to end vehicle pursuits by spinning the fleeing vehicle with a nudge to the rear quarter panel. Cars not fitted with a PIT Bumper can still attempt a PIT maneuver at risk of increased front-end damage and possible disablement if the maneuver fails and the pursuit continues.
Bullbars are installed using the same mounting holes in the front of the truck or SUV that are used to install snow plows, tow hooks, and other accessories. Bullbar installation require a set of lower brackets, while installing larger grille guards, such as brushbars, may also require upper mounting brackets. Some bullbars might cover front license plate of the vehicle. In this case special license plate brackets can be used to relocate it and ensure its proper visibility.
For the
2020 Nova Scotia attacks, the perpetrator's replica
police cruiser
A police car (also called a police cruiser, police interceptor, patrol car, area car, cop car, prowl car, squad car, radio car, or radio motor patrol) is a ground vehicle used by police and law enforcement for transportation during patrols a ...
was installed with a bullbar which he used for a head-on collision with an
RCMP
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
cruiser.
Australia
Kangaroo
Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
s are a primary road safety hazard in Australia, hence the alternative name "roo bar". Kangaroos account for the majority of collisions between vehicles and animals in Australia; the next most common type of animal being dogs at 12%. This high animal strike incidence is why roo bars are most commonly fitted to vehicles in Australia in
outback
The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
or rural areas.
Over recent years there has been debate in Australia regarding the safety implications of fitting a bullbar, especially as four-wheel drives and their accessories are becoming increasingly popular in urban areas. The use of bullbars in urban areas is criticised by cycling and pedestrian organisations.
Bullbar manufacturers in Australia must conform to Australian standard AS47861.1/2002. In some states it may be illegal to drive a vehicle fitted with a bullbar that does not comply with the Australian Design Rules (ADRs). The main ADR requirement that applies to bullbars is a clause within ADR 42/xx (where xx designates a version number), which states (in part) that:
No vehicle shall be equipped with any object or fitting, not technically essential to such vehicle, which protrudes from any part of the vehicle so that it is likely to increase the risk of bodily injury to any person.
This requirement is not specifically aimed at bullbars but does effectively prescribe requirements for their construction. ADR 42/00, the first version of this rule, applied to vehicles built from July 1988. Australian Standard AS4876.1-2002 ''Motor vehicle frontal protection systems Part 1: Road user protection'' was released in 2002, and applies construction rules to all bullbars manufactured since that date, regardless of the age of the vehicle that they are fitted to. Similar requirements for older vehicles fitted with bullbars manufactured before that Australian Standard was implemented exist only in state legislation.
In 2003, New South Wales State Member of Parliament
Anthony Roberts
Anthony John Roberts (born 19 April 1970) is an Australian politician. He is the New South Wales Minister for Planning and the Minister for Homes in the Perrottet ministry since December 2021. Roberts is a member of the New South Wales Legisl ...
suggested there is little or no enforcement of the ADR requirement and Harold Scruby (of the Pedestrian Council of Australia) has proposed that modern standards should be made retrospective.
Bullbars are not allowed to cause a vehicle to fail to comply with other ADRs to which they were originally constructed. This includes visibility of lights, such as headlights and indicators; but it particularly relates to ADR 69/00, the rule for 'Full frontal impact protection'. In order to comply with this rule, bullbars manufactured for vehicles equipped with SRS (
airbag
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision. It consists of the airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. Th ...
systems) must be tested for compatibility with the airbag system.
The major bull bar manufacturers in Australia are ARB, TJM, ECB, Ironman, Smartbar, Irvin Bullbars, AFN and Uneek.
See also
*
Automobile safety
Automotive safety is the study and practice of design, construction, equipment and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of traffic collisions involving motor vehicles. Road traffic safety more broadly includes roadway design.
...
*
Pilot (locomotive)
A cowcatcher, also known as a pilot, is the device mounted at the front of a locomotive to deflect obstacles on the track that might otherwise damage or Derailment, derail it or the train.
In the UK small metal bars called ''life-guards'', ...
*
Roadkill
Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by drivers of motor vehicles on highways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how it can be mi ...
*
Frontal Protection System
*
Off-roading
Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...
*
Automotive aftermarket
The automotive aftermarket is the secondary market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, equipment, and accessories, ''after'' the ...
References
External links
Vehicle registration standards The Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales
- East Coast Bullbars
{{Authority control
Road transport
Automotive safety
Off-road vehicles
Law enforcement equipment
Transport in Australia
Australian inventions