Karnataka Police have acquired a new fleet of patrol vehicles of the Isuzu D-Max V-Cross. The pick-up trucks are already inducted into the service and the police force have started using them too. Here is a video of the Isuzu V-Cross with Davangere Police decals on it. Davangere is a town in the state.

Posted by Armaan Jain in 4X4 India, the Isuzu D-Max V-Cross are heavily modified with an array of aftermarket accessories. We can see three brand-new vehicles in the fleet and all of them have similar modifications.

While the newly inducted vehicles do look badass with all the aftermarket accessories, we are not sure how they are road legal. According to the MV Act and Supreme Court order that came a few years ago, aftermarket bumpers and bullbars are illegal on vehicles for public roads.

Why are bullbars illegal?

Bullbars are illegal as they do not conform with the vehicle safety measures. Bullbars are highly unsafe and can be lethal to pedestrians too. That is why any kind of metal bumper or bullbar is illegal in India.

The bullbars also interfere with the occupant’s safety. How? Well, they do not allow the sensors of airbags to function properly in case of an accident. If the airbag delays in opening during an accident, it can put the life of the occupants in danger.

Only the plastic or rubber bullbars that do not interfere with the sensors can be used but there are not many makers of such bumpers and they are still illegal. Nowadays, manufacturers design bumpers and bonnet of cars to meet crash safety norms. It is for the safety of the pedestrian. For example, if a vehicle with a bullbar hits a pedestrian, he or she may sustain life-threatening injuries. However, the chances of injuries reduce dramatically without the bullbars.

That’s not all, the Isuzu D-Max V-Cross for the police force also gets aftermarket accessories like a snorkel, which are not life-threatening but are only used for extreme off-roading, especially deep water crossings. Cops see them as modification and may issue a challan too.

Kerala MVD announced fines for ministers’ cars

While we see VIP and law enforcement vehicles clearly violating the norms set by the government, authorities in some states do take action. Motor Vehicle Department of Kerala announced that they will issue challans and fines to the Tourism Department of the state that maintains the vehicles for the ministers.

However, we are not sure if the police and the law enforcement authorities are allowed to use such heavily modified vehicles on public roads. Since there are not many details available on the same, we would not comment on it. But if you do know about any such rule, let us know in the comments section. There are many police officers around India that use vehicles with bullbars.