It is harmful to the pedestrians, occupants and of course the car itself

Do you know, bull bars and crash guards are banned in our country? You might be aware of that but it seems like a lot of people have no clue about it, specially the vendors!

There are so many aftermarket accessory shops selling it out in the open. Even if you search online, they are available across multiple sites, including Amazon. However, they have smartly changed the names as off-road bumper, bumper guards, etc.

Under Section 52 of the Motor Vehicle Act, bull bars are deemed illegal. Using similar crash guards will attract penalties under Section 190 and Section 191 of the Motor Vehicle Act. A circular was issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in 2017.

There are still so many people who go straight to the accessory shop soon after taking the delivery to install bull bars that are banned! They believe it’ll protect the bumper from scratches and dents.

I don’t understand what’s the purpose of a bumper then if that’s the case! Also, it looks even more ugly than the scratches and dents on a bumper.

There’s much more to it than just aesthetics. It is very harmful for pedestrians and can cause serious injuries. Even the occupants are unsafe, bull bars affect the crumple zones.

Crumple zones reduce the impact of a crash to a great extent, which results in relatively less shock and neck injuries of passengers.

Yes, I’m getting to that point, airbags! Bull bars can prevent deployment of airbags in case of a crash. They cover the parts that are susceptible to a direct hit where the sensors are located to trigger the deployment.

Companies even refuse to provide insurance if your car has the bull bar installed. There are multiple other reasons to avoid installing bull bars. They actually tamper the chassis of the car, which is a compromise on the structural strength of the car.

Bull bars also affect the aerodynamics of a car. It’s a compromise on high speed stability and fuel efficiency as well.

For safer roads, we need to spread awareness about such rules and regulations. There’s simply no advantage in putting a bull bar on the nose of your car.

You will see a lot of fleet cars having bull bars to “protect their bumpers”
Toyota Innova Crysta Bull Bar
A quick search on Google and you will see it available online, a banned product that is!