In 2017, the Indian government banned any kind of metal crash guard or bullbar on vehicles. With the introduction of the new ban, a new amendment was introduced in the Motor Vehicle Act. The Ministry of Road Transportation and Highways (MoRTH) is using various social media platforms to warn everyone about the law and why it is so important to not install an aftermarket bullbar.

The owner of the vehicle with a bullbar or crash guard can be booked under Section 182A (4) of the Motor Vehicle Act. As per the official law,

Whoever, being the owner of a motor vehicle, alters a motor vehicle, including by way of retrofitting of motor vehicle parts, in a manner not permitted under the Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine of five thousand rupees per such alteration or with both.

Why bullbars are banned?

The primary reason for banning bullbars is to make the road space safer for everyone. Bullbar can be dangerous for the occupants of the vehicle as well as the pedestrians. Most bullbars are mounted to the chassis of the vehicle and during a crash, the bullbar transfers the impact directly to the chassis. It makes the crumple zones useless and the whole impact of the crash transfers directly to the occupants of the vehicle, which can hurt them more.

Bullbars can also be extremely dangerous to the pedestrians on the road. If a vehicle with a bullbar hits a pedestrian, the chances of sustaining fatal injuries increases by multi-folds. The new laws also making the vehicles safer for the pedestrians, a lot of manufacturers had to remove the metal bumpers from the vehicle and many other manufacturers even redesigned the bumper and bonnet of the vehicle.

Bullbars are dangerous for cars with airbags

As we know, the Indian government has made the driver-side airbag mandatory in every vehicle in India. Soon, the front two airbags will be mandatory in the cars. Bullbars on vehicles with airbags can be extremely dangerous and can injure the occupants very badly.

Since the sensors to deploy the airbags are located in the front of the vehicle, the bullbar can interfere with the function. As the time in which the airbag opens after a crash is extremely delicate to provide a cushion to the occupants, even a microsecond delay can injure the occupants. Airbags use a powerful chemical reaction to provide a cushion. Before that, a small blast takes place to mix the chemicals.

If there is a bullbar installed, it will take the first impact instead of the bumper and then the sensor will not trigger the airbag in time. This can hurt the occupants very badly and in some cases, the airbags do not get triggered at all.