[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

he he he

to a pedestrian, being hit by a bull bar or naked bumper doesn't make much difference.

It does. Being hit at 20kmph which a sharp edged sumo bull bar will kill you, but at the same speed with a car you will survive with few things broken.
Thats why you have pedestrian safety rating. Some cars are safer than others.

[mxx]

check this out:
http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/factsheets/22.html
This is an article from New zealand land tranport authority.
Mentions some interesting point about bull bar.
Specially
"What's the safest option?
The safest option is to not fit a bullbar to a vehicle, especially if the vehicle has airbags."

[1100D]

For modern car the fron ends are designed keeping padestrian safety in mind. Although most of these modern machines are not very commonplace in indian market today.

But the greatest thing against bullbars is the damage the thing might do to the car and the passengers themselves in case of major frontal collisions.

And in anycase whats the use, you're only protecting the front end, a bike wallah always has the choice of hitting your side panels instead!

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by 1100D

And in anycase whats the use, you're only protecting the front end, a bike wallah always has the choice of hitting your side panels instead!

You said it. Is there anything available to save the sides of the car from some of those pesky bikers - something like side bullbars.
They try to sneak in minute spaces between cars. And there have been times when I have taken a hit while stationary at signals. I am afraid that one of these days, I would lose my already thinning patience and ......

[mail4ajo]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

You said it. Is there anything available to save the sides of the car from some of those pesky bikers - something like side bullbars.
They try to sneak in minute spaces between cars. And there have been times when I have taken a hit while stationary at signals. I am afraid that one of these days, I would lose my already thinning patience and ......

Supreme,

This what exactly I was thinking. The morning rush at Choolaimedu subway signal makes my blood boil . Sometimes makes me feel, I need to barge out and break the teeth of the autokarans.... I have maintained my cool always.

I got hit recently while driving my relative's car at the same signal. I was awaiting the signal and bang, a pulsar dumbo crashed. I didnt want to hold up traffic so I let go.

Wonder if we can have some iron rods welded to the doors to keep these guys off!!!!

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

It does. Being hit at 20kmph which a sharp edged sumo bull bar will kill you, but at the same speed with a car you will survive with few things broken.
Thats why you have pedestrian safety rating. Some cars are safer than others.

in this case i wud compare a sumo with grill and a sumo without grill.
the purpose of fixing the grill has not much todowith the pedestrian safety, nor it does, in my opinion.
car with soft corners for pedestrians, yes that'soemthing that will be afcted by a grill.

let's not mix diferent types of cars in my statement, anyway, that was just for argument's sake.

chill.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Supreme, This what exactly I was thinking. The morning rush at Choolaimedu subway signal makes my blood boil. Sometimes makes me feel, I need to barge out and break the teeth of the autokarans.... I have maintained my cool always.
I got hit recently while driving my relative's car at the same signal. I was awaiting the signal and bang, a pulsar dumbo crashed. I didnt want to hold up traffic so I let go.
Wonder if we can have some iron rods welded to the doors to keep these guys off!!!!

Ajo, looks like we do not have much of an option (apart from maybe driving a battered Sumo or something, which everyone would avoid like chickengunya).
Some tips to avoid such damage, that I follow are :
1) Change commute timings. The subway gets chaotic from 8:15 to 8:30AM onwards. So, I leave for work before this, usually by 8AM or so. And try to leave work early to avoid the evening rush (also get some quality time at home).
2) I stick to the rightmost lane, come what may, without letting any 2-wheeler between my car and the median. At times, this would mean that I might get stuck behind people taking a U-turn. But still, I do not have to deal with 2-wheeled maniacs on both sides of my car.
3) Brake with care. Before braking, look at RVM, pump the pedal lightly so that the psycho behind you sees the brake light flash and can take some action apart from using your car's rear as a bike-stopper. Then go for the actual braking. Might sound tough, but it works with some practice.

But, sadly, I do not see any solution to avoid the a******* that rear end you when you are waiting at signals. If conditions permit, give him something to remember so that he does not repeat it again.

Sorry for going OFF-TOPIC guys.

[1100D]

In India you might even think about having a BulBar on top. There are certain instances of things falling over from the sky!

[mail4ajo]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Ajo, looks like we do not have much of an option (apart from maybe driving a battered Sumo or something, which everyone would avoid like chickengunya).
Some tips to avoid such damage, that I follow are :
1) Change commute timings. The subway gets chaotic from 8:15 to 8:30AM onwards. So, I leave for work before this, usually by 8AM or so. And try to leave work early to avoid the evening rush (also get some quality time at home).
2) I stick to the rightmost lane, come what may, without letting any 2-wheeler between my car and the median. At times, this would mean that I might get stuck behind people taking a U-turn. But still, I do not have to deal with 2-wheeled maniacs on both sides of my car.
3) Brake with care. Before braking, look at RVM, pump the pedal lightly so that the psycho behind you sees the brake light flash and can take some action apart from using your car's rear as a bike-stopper. Then go for the actual braking. Might sound tough, but it works with some practice.

But, sadly, I do not see any solution to avoid the a******* that rear end you when you are waiting at signals. If conditions permit, give him something to remember so that he does not repeat it again.

Sorry for going OFF-TOPIC guys.

I guess you are right. If we drive with care and consideration for our fellow road users, these bull bars may not be neccessary at all. I have begin to drive carefully now. I used to be an aggressive bike rider earlier due to work pressure. Now, I have cooled off.

Following what supreme just said might keep the bull bars rusting at the accessories shop.

[Mpower]

UPDATE: After reading Kingpin's thread, I realized that the FIAT Adventure is sold with a company fitted bullbar as stock.
So, it probably legal otherwise they would'nt have got ARAI certification.

[THE-U-]

Bull bars are not certainly illegal. In fact I like bull bars because they serve as a good mount point for driving lights. Those of you who do night time driving on our National Highways know how the Lorry drivers behave. Having a good set of Hella 85W driving lights go a long way in improving visibility.

[Insane Devil]

I doubt there are any laws n regulations regd it in India, but Singapore sure has restrictions on it, as per safety regulations concering passengers in the front car!

[esteem_lover]

i am very sure that there is a law in the transport act, which says that there should be no object, person or anything else jutting out of the vehicle at all times. we all have learned this when we took our Driver's license & somehow forgot about it. A vehice is registered as such from the showroom. if anything else is fitted which protrudes from the vehicle, it has to be endorsed by the RTO.

i guess this is a rule like many rules in our country which are difficult to implement, like pissing or ****ting in public (In decent exposure), smoking in public, jumping the red signal etc etc etc...the list goes on..

[Technocrat]

@Esteem_lover: By that regard even the Spoilers should be illegal & so would be rail roofs if not prvided as standard. Also if our car should remain as per RC book or company maual then even changing lights(whihc I believe is certainly illegal), horns, adding ICE all shoudl also be not allowed

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

@Esteem_lover: By that regard even the Spoilers should be illegal & so would be rail roofs if not prvided as standard. Also if our car should remain as per RC book or company maual then even changing lights(whihc I believe is certainly illegal), horns, adding ICE all shoudl also be not allowed

i would not say illegal. any fitting which protrudes from the bodyline of a vehicle definitely has to be endorsed by the RTO, if not, then it is illegal. (Trucks carrying steel rods etc). Strictly speaking, rail roofs also need to be RTO endorsed,in that case. changing lights, if the wattage is more than the permissible limits, certainly illegal, iam not sure there is any RTO endorsement for that. Horns, yes, cannot exceed certain decibels. ICE, i dont really know, it certainly does not hamper any other vehicles or pedestrians as it is well within the vehicle, but it could be construed as to be distracting for the driver. someone could throw light on how ICE is treated in the developed world, where the safety norms & value for life is very high.