Ironman4x4 front bumper/bullbar - 4th Gen

300bhpton wrote:

Bill Portland wrote: Automotive engineers go to incredible lengths to design in safety features such as crumple zones and, particularly, pedestrian friendly and life saving soft and rounded plastic bits. Anything that prevents these designs working effectively shouldn't be on the road imho.

Utter nonsense. If you truly believed that, then you wouldn't have a 4x4 or think buses, lorries and vans should be on the road either.

Utter nonsense? Really? What part of what I said isn't true?
Over recent decades, vehicle design (including 4x4, buses, lorries and vans) is based on the premise that the protection of human occupants and other road users takes precedence over protecting the vehicle itself. What you're proposing is contrary to that premise. I fail to see any connection between this and "driving the farm tractors through the village" other than both being undesirable. One may be a necessity, the other certainly isn't. And yes, there are lots of vehicles on the road that have varying compliance with modern safety standards, that doesn't mean we should take ones that do comply and make them worse.

I think installing a bull bar to a commercial vehicle/Dual purpose vehicle, i.e something used on the farm or maybe a 4x4 recovery vehicle is justifiable because it would be advantageous to the vehicles purpose. But installing a bull bar to a daily driver/ seems to be a grey area - that from we can gather from the GOV website, is frowned upon.

The general consensus seems to be that it's not recommended, do so at your own risk i.e insurance/police in the event of an accident. The risk is slightly greater than installing aftermarket HID headlights or installing a lift kit..

DAGZOOK wrote: "There are no plans for legislation to require bull bars that are already fitted to be removed. However, since 25 May 2007, it has been an offence for bull bars that have not been approved as compliant with those safety standards to be sold. Approved devices will carry an indelible ‘e’ mark (for example: e1 01 1471)."


As above, there's noting wrong with OE equipment protective bull bars fitted. (I think the genuine defender bull/winch bar has An outer foam/rubber lining?

But it's illegal to retrospectively install anything that isn't 'E' marked, You'd be changing the design intent of the vehicle which has been rigorously crash tested.

I haven't looked the actual regulation up to see the wording. However the link you posted:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/bull-bars/bull-bars

Is very specific in its wording. It does not say fitting a non E marked bullbar is illegal. It refers to the fact selling one is. Legally this would be a distinct difference.

e.g.

"since 25 May 2007, it has been an offence for bull bars that have not been approved as compliant with those safety standards to be sold"

Yeah your right, wording is key here. I guess you'd have to be prepared to use that argument in court/with your insurer if you were to ever be involved in a serious accident.

Not a risk I'd personally like to take, but I'm boring and cautious! each to their own.