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RACV position

• RACV recognises the potential benefits of bull-bars, when used in the correct manner and circumstances, such as driving mostly on rural roads. It is up to motorists to decide whether or not they need to fit a bull-bar to their vehicle. However, motorists must also ensure their vehicle continues to adhere to roadworthiness requirements.
• RACV does however discourage motorists who do a majority of their driving in an urban environment from fitting a bull-bar, as in this case it does not perform a useful function and presents an unnecessary risk to unprotected road users.
• RACV encourages bull-bar manufacturers to design bull-bars which enable vehicles to continue to comply with roadworthiness requirements and which minimise injuries to unprotected road users, in the case of a collision between the two.
• RACV believes the Victorian State Government should consider making compliance with the Australian Standard for bull-bars mandatory for all new bull-bars fitted to registered vehicles.
• RACV believes vehicle manufacturers/importers should stop the practice of fitting bull-bars as a standard feature to its vehicles. Car buyers should choose whether or not to fit a bull-bar to their vehicle.

background

A bull-bar is a rigid structure, usually metal (plastic bars also exist), which is fixed to the front of a vehicle, and is designed to protect a vehicle against damage to items such as the radiator and headlights when struck by kangaroos, other wildlife and livestock.

Australia has a unique road system, in part characterised by large expanses of sparsely populated territory. The many remote roads that join rural communities are populated by wildlife, especially kangaroos. Kangaroos, as well as livestock, pose a problem for people driving through these areas, because they are large enough to disable a vehicle and even personal injury in a collision.

However, bull-bars are also sometimes fitted to vehicles that are used predominantly in urban areas for more reasons that are more aesthetic than functional. This trend, especially prevalent in the four wheel drive market, is alarming, because of the unnecessary risk to pedestrians and other unprotected road users in collisions with these vehicles.

current situation

The percentages of vehicles fitted with bull-bars varies greatly between country and city areas. Rural vehicles are more likely to be fitted with bull-bars. As a rough guide, somewhere around 10 percent of all vehicles in Australia are fitted with a bull-bar.

The types of vehicles which are usually equipped with bull-bars are four wheel drives, passenger and commercial vans, trucks, and to a lesser extent, sedans.

Some people have speculated that bull-bars can compromise the occupant protection performance of a vehicle. Vehicle manufacturers today spend considerable effort in 'tuning' the frontal structure of their vehicles in order to minimise the forces and accelerations on its occupants. Attaching a rigidly mounted bull-bar may affect the ability of a vehicle to perform as it was designed to, in a frontal collision.

Some bull-bar makers have been accused of designing their bars to snap off in a collision, so as not to influence the crash performance of the vehicle. However this measure would likely render the bull-bar ineffective in an animal strike.

Attaching a bull-bar to the front of a vehicle is unlikely to protect its occupants from injury in a collision and may actually have an adverse effect.

bull-bars and airbags

Airbags and more particularly the sensors and computers used to trigger their inflation, are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The attachment of a bull-bar (i.e. one not certified for use by the vehicle manufacturer) has the potential to alter the triggering characteristics of the airbag, reducing its effectiveness. The result is an increase in risk of injury or death to the vehicle occupants seated where an airbag is fitted.

A number of vehicle manufacturers currently fit bull-bars through their dealerships that have been tested and certified by them as being compatible with their airbags. Motorists are advised to fit only bull-bars that have been deemed compatible with any airbags fitted to their vehicle.

vulnerable road users

One fifth of all fatalities on Australian roads are pedestrians, with 289 pedestrian deaths on Australian roads in 2001. A further ten percent are motorcyclists and two percent are bicyclists. In total, thirty two percent of all fatalities on Australian roads fall into the category of vulnerable road users. Numerous studies have shown that bull-bars can significantly increase the risk of head, thorax and stomach injuries to pedestrians and other unprotected road users when they are struck by the front of such a bull-bar-equipped vehicle.

advantages

Bull-bars have some benefits in collisions with large animals, such as protection to the radiator, headlights, or engine. However, these benefits are exclusively realised in rural or outback areas. In remote situations, a bull-bar can be the difference between being stranded a long distance from the nearest town or dwelling, and being able to continue driving with little or no damage to the vehicle after a kangaroo strike.

disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage of bull-bars is the risk that they present to vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. They also increase the aggressivity of a vehicle in car to car impacts. This is especially the case in side impact collisions, where occupants of the struck vehicle are at greater risk of injury if the impacting vehicle has a large rigid structure bolted to the front of it.

Another potential disadvantage is the potential increase in injury risk to the occupants of the bull-bar-equipped vehicle, as outlined above in Crashworthiness.

vehicle roadworthiness

As discussed above, bull-bars have the potential to interfere with a vehicle's crashworthiness. VicRoads' Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulations 2004 states that it is a requirement that vehicles built to comply with ADR 69 - Full Frontal Impact Occupant Protection continue to do so. A table outlining which vehicles must continue to comply with ADR 69 is set out in Table 1 below.

  

Vehicle Type	New Models Built After:	Existing Models Built After:
Passenger Vehicles	July 1 1995	January 1 1996
Off Road Passenger Vehicles (4WDs), Forward Control Passenger Vehicles (People Movers) and Light Commercial Vehicles	July 1 1997	July 1 1998
Light Goods Vehicles	July 1 1998	July 1 2000

Table 1. Vehicles that must comply with ADR 69 (Full Frontal Impact Occupant Protection).

Furthermore, according to VicRoads, "The bull bar must be designed and fitted so that the safety of the vehicle is not adversely affected. It must be firmly and securely mounted and supported, and must not constitute a danger
to other road users." This includes such dangers to road users as sharp edges, attachments protruding above the top of the bull-bar and anything (including the bull-bar itself) protruding "unduly beyond the side profile of the vehicle". Fixtures such as winches, fishing rod holders and vices may render the vehicle unroadworthy, depending on how they are mounted (including on the bull-bar).

Australian standard for bull-bars

In September 2002, the first Australian Standard for Motor Vehicle Frontal Protection Systems (more commonly termed 'bull-bars') was published. At present, the standard is voluntary. However RACV encourages motorists who choose to fit a bull-bar to their vehicle to purchase one that complies with the standard.

The standard focuses on protecting other road users. This is achieved by requiring bull-bars to exhibit 'friendly' design features such as:

• Following the general profile of the vehicle, where it is attached,
• Having all forward-facing edges radiused or chamfered (i.e. no sharp edges),
• Complying with an impact test that ensures a minimum level of protection in a collision between the bull-bar and a child's head.

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