Bullbar campaigns on collision course

Every month transport reporter SCOTT MacLEOD looks at issues affecting road safety as part of our investigation into the road toll. Today's topic is bullbars.

Peter Thwaites was driving his van near Milford when he was hit head-on by a Ford Falcon - and he reckons his bullbar saved him.

During the smash, in 1993, the Mitsubishi L300 van's bullbar seemed to spring the vehicles apart, stopping Mr Thwaites from having his legs crushed.

"I would have lost my legs," he said. "I wouldn't be without bullbars on vans even if the law changed. It would be civil disobedience."

But the law could change.

In Australia, calls for a ban on bullbars have sparked fierce debate between pedestrian lobby groups, who say they are dangerous, and rural folk who say they are essential for "roo strikes."

Our own safety regulators are watching the debate closely, and a draft safety standard is being drawn up for both countries.

Apart from killing pedestrians, opponents say bullbars cause more damage in smashes and make impact-sensitive airbags deploy too quickly. They are especially irked by bullbars on urban four-wheel-drive vehicles cruising Ponsonby Rd.

Bullbar defenders - mostly rural, off-road and van drivers - say they need the extra protection because of the terrain they use or the design of their vehicles.

Land Transport Safety Authority crash reports from the past five years list bullbars as a factor in three fatal crashes.

LTSA spokesman Craig Dowling said his organisation believed bullbars should not be used in urban areas.

"It certainly can have negative impact on other motorists - and on yourself, because your vehicle is more rigid and the force of impact is transferred to the driver's department. But in a farming and rural environment they may be fair enough."

A total ban would be extreme, and would depend on the research results and efforts going into making bullbars safer.

The LTSA website lists other safety concerns. Bullbars may reduce the effectiveness of collapsible steering columns and vehicle crumple zones. They can also concentrate crash forces into a smaller area when hitting another vehicle.

Tubular metal bullbars without padding are the most dangerous for pedestrians. The LTSA warns that people fitting these types of bars may have to remove them in future.

In Australia, the Federal Office of Road Safety estimates bullbars are involved in up to 20 per cent of pedestrian deaths.

St John Ambulance duty watch manager Glenn Rose said staff delivering road patients usually told hospitals about a bullbar, because it suggested greater force and injury. Bullbars tended to "intrude" into other vehicles in smashes.

But Auckland Four-Wheel-Drive Club president John Walker said opponents had to remember that people like himself spent much time driving down clay banks and hitting the occasional tree. "We don't put them on just to look good."

But Mr Walker agreed that bullbars were not needed in cities.

New Zealand's biggest manufacturer of bullbars is Best Bars. Owner Michael Parker, who is on the committee trying to nut out a joint standard with Australia, said many of the concerns were being addressed.

The airbag problem was being beaten by new technology that stopped them from deploying during minor smashes.

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