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Indian government BANS bull-bars on cars and SUVs.
The ministry has also indicated that bull-bars are illegal according to the Section 52 of the Motor Vehicles Act. It has also pointed out that using bull-bars on vehicles attracts penalties under the Section 190 and 191 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
In the next few days, we may see RTOs and traffic police personnel across India acting against bull-bars, heavily penalizing drivers for running them, and also getting these hazardous accessory removed from vehicles. This drive may be similar to the one that was conducted a few years ago, after a Supreme Court judgment made window tints illegal on cars running in India.
First of all, fitting a bull-bar on a car equipped with airbags may impede the deployment of the airbags during a crash. Such a scenario could result in grevious injuries to you. Another big disadvantage of the bull-bar is that, during major crashes, it could damage the chassis of the car heavily, and prevent crumple zones of the car functioning properly. This can result in the force of the crash not being absorbed by the crumple zones of the car, and instead being transferred to the passengers. Serious injuries, or even death could be the result. Thirdly, bull -bars cause immense injuries/death to pedestrians even during minor crashes.
If you have a car or SUV equipped with a bull-bar/bull-guard, it is advisable that you get it removed at the earliest. Bull-bars/bull-guards may protect your vehicle's bumpers from minor scrapes but they have multiple disadvantages, some of them very dangerous to your personal safety, and safety of fellow road users like cyclists, two wheeler riders and pedestrians
