Bullbars, Is There A Smarter Alternative?
Sunday, February 8th, 2009I’m a bit of a 4WD buff, I always have been. From climbing impossible mountains to cruising through the sand dunes for an ocean fishing expedition, I just love getting out there, into places unreachable by foot or road.
Recently while driving my jeep through the outback of Australia, I hit a kangaroo. I was only meandering along at the time so I didn’t damage the jeep, (and the kangaroo bounded away with little more than a fright) but it really got me thinking about bullbar protection. If I was going any faster, I could have seriously damaged my 4X4 to the extent that I was stuck, waiting for another offroad buff to get me out of trouble.
So I called my mates at All Vehicle Accessories in Melbourne. They told me about these innovative new “plastic bullbars”. Having not heard about them before and being a bit bewildered by the chat (I mean, how can plastic protect my jeep?) I decided to do some research. This is what I found out.
There are 3 things a bullbar (or frontal protection device) is supposed to protect. These are the vehicle, the passengers in the vehicle, and the object being struck in a collision.
Talking about protection generally, I find it strange how many bullbar exponents out there point out that when you are travelling at 150kms/h, no matter what you hit, its going to be fatal to the object and probably the vehicle. Personally I think such arguments are ridiculous as they suggest all collissions are at excessive speeds and dismiss the relative safety performance of the products at lower speeds. But just to make it clear to everyone, when we are comparing these products along safety lines, we are comparing performance at the fatal margin. This means we are comparing safety performance at the point where an impact will kill a pedestrian, or buckle your chassis to the extent that your vehicle is written off.
The difference between the performance of bullbars and smartbars comes about because bullbars are rigid (Ie they have no give in them) while smartbars are not. (Ie. they are made from polyethylene with a hollow internal structure so they have some give) Despite all the opinion to the contrary, at speeds leading up to fatal impact, smartbars work better than bullbars in protecting you, the car and the person you hit. The manner in which they absorb impact minimises the force of the collision and thereby reduces injury and damage. The cushioning effect of this absorbtion actually acts to decelerate the colliding forces at the point of impact. This has been proven by independent child head-form impact tests. You just have to do a little research to find the studies.
To paint a picture, imagine you fall over in the street and strike your head on an iron postal letter box. Its going to hurt like crazy and probably leave you concussed. Now imagine in the same fall, you knock over one of those big wheelie bins, your head hitting the middle. The wheelie bin will collapse on itself somewhat, cushioning the impact, leaving you a little bemused and with a good story for your mates. The smartbars work in the same fashion.
If you enjoy your vehicle, performance will always be a topic on your mind. The cost of fuel, tyre wear, suspension wear, handling in extreme weather. They are all issues for regular drivers. One thing that no-one questions, is that smartbars are significantly lighter than bullbars. Do you know what this means? Better fuel efficiency, longer tyre and suspension wear, easier and safer handling. Smartbars by their lighter composition allow your vehicle to perform better. Simple.
And I have one final point to make on the subject. I love taking the jeep out bush but I’m pretty lazy about it when I come home. I don’t want to spend hours polishing, buffing or scrubbing my bullbar because its rusting a bit (especially after those ocean fishing trips) or has lost its shine. A quick wipedown with a soapy sponge is all the smartbar takes to clean. Which means I can spend my time planning the next trip.
This is a simple presentation of the facts which I’ve found in my research, when looking at viable frontal protection products for my jeep. As always, do your own research and make the best decisions you can. I’m sure if you do do some research and make your decision on the facts rather than someone elses “tuff man” image, the decision won’t be that hard at all.
