Roo (bull) bar in Europe

[Major_B]

My understanding is that US bumpers are metal bumpers while UK/EU are plastic bumpers.
Regardless of legal considerations here, has anyone in UK/EU installed a bull bar and if so did you have to replace the bumper?
Any links to a company doing this mainland?
Thanks
Laurent

 

[landmannnn]

My understanding is that US bumpers are metal bumpers while UK/EU are plastic bumpers.
Regardless of legal considerations here, has anyone in UK/EU installed a bull bar and if so did you have to replace the bumper?
Any links to a company doing this mainland?
Thanks
Laurent

You cannot ingore the legal considerations. The fine in the UK just for selling a bullbar is up to £25,000 or 2 years in prison, EU will not be very different.

 

[Jeremy996]

In the UK there is theoretically an exemption for a winch bumper/mount, as the functionality is deemed important, but as the Grenadier has a compliant one, I am not sure I would be willing to push it. Your chances of bumping into a traffic policement or DVSA employee with the knowledge and time to put you through the wringer is not great, but if you get involved in road traffic incident with personal injury/death, they will have all the time in the world.

Also bear in mind that your insurance company will ask you to make a declaration that your vehicle complies with UK legislation on sign up, so if the authorities decide your winch bumper is non-compliant, you will not have any insurance either.

 

[Major_B]

Things are a bit different in Belgium, a bull bar is legal if it is part of standard mount. That’s one thing. Then it is about having the bar only on some expeditions/countries, hence the procurement question. I understand now that UK is probably not the place to look for one

 

[landmannnn]

Things are a bit different in Belgium, a bull bar is legal if it is part of standard mount. That’s one thing. Then it is about having the bar only on some expeditions/countries, hence the procurement question. I understand now that UK is probably not the place to look for one

You have been misinformed. A rigid steel bull bar was banned in the EU in 2007.

 

[Major_B]

Well this is not what this piece of legislation says: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32005L0066
There is no mention on the material, and it allows bars as long as they follow an homologation process.
Reading less official sources depicts a gray zone when it comes to applying this text across the various EU member states, but again I do not see a firm prohibition in these legal texts.
More specifically in Belgium, the question was raised in parliament in 2021. The full answer can be found here: https://www.stradalex.com/fr/sl_src...ocument/QRcrb_55-b067-1184-0719-2020202111834
I summarize here in english:
“It is forbidden to add dangerous ornaments or accessories that may aggravate the consequences of accidents outside a motor vehicle." Contravening this article is a first-degree offence punishable by a fine of 58 euros. Moreover, according to art. 59.6 of the Highway Code, "no vehicle may be put into circulation or maintained on public roads, if it does not comply with the provisions of this regulation, and the technical regulations of motor vehicles or mopeds and motorcycles." Contravening this article is also a first-degree offence punishable by a fine of 58 euros. The presence of a bull bar is also checked during the technical inspection of the vehicle. The approval of bull bars - which are assimilated to frontal protection systems - is governed by European Regulation (EC) No. 78/2009 (replaced from 6 July 2022 by Regulation (EU) 2021/535) or by UN EEC Regulation No. 127, both relating to the approval of motor vehicles with regard to pedestrian safety. They are therefore not prohibited but their homologation and installation are strictly regulated. There are two scenarios:
- a vehicle is equipped with an original bull bar and is approved as a whole. Regulations (EC) No. 78/2009 and UN-EEC No. 127 apply;
- the bull bar is approved as a separate entity. Only Regulation (EC) No 78/2009 applies.”

 

[Jeremy996]

A steel bull bar will not pass homologation; JLR ended up with polymer ones. The detailed rules are based around pedestrian impact, I'm told anything much more resiliant than posh tinfoil will apply too much force to the dummy's skull at the design speed. (Hit a person much above 30mph and their injuries will be life changing at best).

Have a road traffic incident in the UK with a non-compliant vehicle and you can be confident that a penalty of €58 will not apply! There is a good chance your vehicle would be seized and crushed for starters.

To source something, I think you will need to look to Australia, as their wildlife makes some form of frontal protection advisable in some areas.