The Police and the State Transport Authority are yet to implement the ban on crash guards and bull bars fitted in two-wheelers and cars after the Centre asked the States to take strict action against the violators.
While bull bars are fixed in four-wheelers, especially SUVs and MUVs, crash guards are part of majority of the two-wheelers seen on roads. Apart from the public, bull bars are used in vehicles belonging to various Government departments.
A senior official of the State Transport Authority told The Hindu on Tuesday that they have been informed about ban on crash guards and bull bars. However, the department has not issued any instruction to implement the same.
“No instruction has been issued to check vehicles for the use of crash guards and bull bars,” said the official.
The official also felt that the ban imposed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways might end up similar to the earlier ban on the use of tinted sun films in windows and windscreens of vehicles.
Traffic police officials said that they have not started to cover the aspect during the routine motor vehicle checks. However, major alterations in vehicles are intimated to the Transport Department.
Sujit Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), said that the police are yet to get orders on the implementation of the ban.
The order banning unauthorised fitment of crash guard/bull bar on motor vehicles also says that their use pose serious safety concerns to the pedestrians and the occupants of the vehicle. It says that fitment of crash guard/bull bar is in contravention of Section 52 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. This attracts penalty under Sections 190 and 191 of the Act.
As per Section 52 of the Act, no owner of a motor vehicle shall so alter the vehicle that the particulars contained in the certificate of registration are at variance with those originally specified by the manufacturer.
A city-based mechanic, whom The Hindu spoke to, said that bull bars used vehicles can aggravate the impact of damage when collided with the other vehicle. He said that use of bull bars may also affect the deployment of air bag at the time of collision as they absorb the impact of collision which is originally bore by the crumple zone.
