Thread: Bull bar blitz: rural drivers fined

Originally Posted by sheerluck

Again a very simplistic view Pat. Regardless of your opinion that there should be nothing but vehicles on the road, there will always be times when people will, with a legitimate reason or not, be wanting to share that space with them.

Not all of them will be mindless morons, some will be a victim of circumstance. Maybe someone breaking down on one of those urban roads with the pool fences, and making a 50/50 call as to whether it would be safer to leave their vehicle or stay with it.
Perhaps someone on a rural road with no pavements out walking their dogs.

Or even someone in suburbia having to walk around the back of a car that's parked across the pavement.

Not as black and white as you are making out.

There are road rules covering these situations that apply to pedestrians. These laws are in place to maximise safe use of the road. I own old cars and have walked many a mile along little country roads with no pavements whilst four wheel drives and B doubles with big bull bars thunder past me. Use your common sense and obey those rules and the chances of being hit for a six by a bull bar are really small.

It's one thing for you to use your common sense Mick, it's the other people you've got to watch out for.

Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

It's one thing for you to use your common sense Mick, it's the other people you've got to watch out for.

This is true. Those people should accept the consequences of their actions and chalk it up to experience. There have been many posts on this forum that laments the fact we are becoming a nanny state. I see the removal of bull bars as one more step to that end. What's the next step? Banning of four wheel drives? There is a rather vocal group calling for just that. Oh, it is clear four wheel drives are not pedestrian friendly.

Oh, when there is an accident in Melbourne CBD involving a vehicle and a pedestrian, it's usually the pedestrian that lacks common sense. I'm willing to wager that in most pedestrian/vehicle accidents involve a lack of common sense displayed by the pedestrian. I'd also wager most pedestrian/vehicle accidents do not involve bull bars.
I'm tipping removal of bull bars from four wheel drives is not going to improve the statistics of injury from pedestrian/vehicle accidents by much, if at all.

Interestingly, I was listening to Jeff Kennett the other day. He was saying something along the lines of the government throw a **** load of money at the road toll. With the same funding, they can prevent hundreds of depression sufferers from taking their own lives. Why I mention this is we could possibly do better things for society if we focused our efforts elsewhere rather going to the nth degree on a limited set of issues.

Here's an interesting road law:

236 Pedestrians not to cause a traffic hazard or
obstruction
(1) A pedestrian must not cause a traffic hazard by
moving into the path of a driver.
Penalty: 1 penalty unit.
(2) A pedestrian must not unreasonably obstruct the
path of any driver or another pedestrian.
Penalty: 1 penalty unit.
(3) For subrule (2), a pedestrian does not
unreasonably obstruct the path of another
pedestrian only by travelling more slowly than
other pedestrians.
(4) A pedestrian must not stand on, or move onto, a
road to—
(a) solicit contributions, employment or
business from an occupant of a vehicle; or
(b) hitchhike; or
(c) display an advertisement; or
(d) sell or offer articles for sale; or
(e) wash or clean, or offer to wash or clean, the
windscreen of a vehicle (other than a parked
vehicle).
Penalty: 2 penalty units.
(5) In this rule—
road includes any shoulder of the road, but does
not include any other road related area.

And 238 is just as interesting:

238 Pedestrians travelling along a road (except in or on
a wheeled recreational device or toy)
(1) A pedestrian must not travel along a road if there
is a footpath or nature strip adjacent to the road,
unless it is impracticable to travel on the footpath
or nature strip.
Penalty: 2 penalty units.
Note
Footpath and nature strip are defined in the dictionary.
(2) A pedestrian travelling along a road—
(a) must keep as far to the left or right side of
the road as is practicable; and
(ab) must, when moving forward, face
approaching traffic that is moving in the
direction opposite to which the pedestrian is
travelling, unless it is impracticable to do so;
and
(b) must not travel on the road alongside more
than 1 other pedestrian or vehicle travelling
on the road in the same direction as the
pedestrian, unless the pedestrian is
overtaking other pedestrians.
Penalty: 2 penalty units.
(3) In this rule—
pedestrian does not include a person travelling in
or on a wheeled recreational device or
wheeled toy;
road does not include a road related area, but
includes any shoulder of the road.

All common sense, really.

OK , I will stick my chin out ready to be flamed.

Why is it that there are no easily removable bullbars?

IMHO it would be pretty simple to design a quick release mechanism cosisting of either horizontal or vertical posts that the bullbar can slide onto and be held by pins or some other method.

I thought of this when there was a movement to ban bullbars in city areas a couple of years ago.
I don't think anyone could really argue that this was undesirable as we do not need bullbars in the city.

BTW , I have now done 2 laps and numerous other semi laps of OZ including most of the iconic roads and never hit a roo, bull, emu, or anything in 8 years of travel , this year for 3 months.

I have had a roo jump into the side of my car and found out that emus can pull their backside in if about to be hit.

My RRC originally had an old ARB bar that weighed 45kilos on it and I took it off to the great relief of the front supension. I don't have a bar on my D2.
I don't travel at dusk or dawn or night, I slow down at the first hint of cattle on the road and slow down by 10 when the scrub is to the road edge. I contrast this to a Pom who posted a couple of years ago who had hit 4 roos in one circuit. As I said, we soon won't need shooters with him around.
I appreciate that if you live in the scrub and have to travel at night you may need a bar. However IMHO in many cases bars are just macho man accessories.

I had contact with many bullbar customers when working for "the dudder" and I can tell you that most were just after the look. I know I sold a few bars that weighed 130KG !!!!!!! for FJ Cruisers. What you could do to the suspension to hold up the bar I do not know, and our agent in Perth who was a suspension specialist did not know either.

Regards Philip A

Hi all,
not only are bull bars being targeted in some areas but also forward facing roof lights which are illegal as well, along with rod holders--maybe the thin edge of the wedge.

Originally Posted by PhilipA

OK , I will stick my chin out ready to be flamed.

Why is it that there are no easily removable bullbars?

IMHO it would be pretty simple to design a quick release mechanism cosisting of either horizontal or vertical posts that the bullbar can slide onto and be held by pins or some other method.

I thought of this when there was a movement to ban bullbars in city areas a couple of years ago.
I don't think anyone could really argue that this was undesirable as we do not need bullbars in the city.

BTW , I have now done 2 laps and numerous other semi laps of OZ including most of the iconic roads and never hit a roo, bull, emu, or anything in 8 years of travel , this year for 3 months.

I have had a roo jump into the side of my car and found out that emus can pull their backside in if about to be hit.

My RRC originally had an old ARB bar that weighed 45kilos on it and I took it off to the great relief of the front supension. I don't have a bar on my D2.
I don't travel at dusk or dawn or night, I slow down at the first hint of cattle on the road and slow down by 10 when the scrub is to the road edge. I contrast this to a Pom who posted a couple of years ago who had hit 4 roos in one circuit. As I said, we soon won't need shooters with him around.
I appreciate that if you live in the scrub and have to travel at night you may need a bar. However IMHO in many cases bars are just macho man accessories.

I had contact with many bullbar customers when working for "the dudder" and I can tell you that most were just after the look. I know I sold a few bars that weighed 130KG !!!!!!! for FJ Cruisers. What you could do to the suspension to hold up the bar I do not know, and our agent in Perth who was a suspension specialist did not know either.

Regards Philip A

I had never hit a roo, until a little over a year ago. I was probably traveling at about 40km/h or less by the time I hit it. It didn't get knocked over and continued to hop on it's way. There were a few bent panels on the Commodore. I nearly it another one a little over a month ago. Again in the Commodore. I have also nearly hit an emu (now thery're a dumb bird).
I have also in a small sedan (no bull bar) nearly hit a pedestrian. Driving not very quickly up Bourke Street (you can't drive very quickly up Bourke Street) in the city in a rainy day. A middle aged woman armed with bags of shopping appeared between two parked cars making a dash for the tram on the opposite side of the road. On reflection, it was much like the emu incident.

Will I be putting a bull bar on the Commodore? I don't think so.
Will I be removing the bull bars from the Landrovers? No.

Originally Posted by alan48

Hi all,
not only are bull bars being targeted in some areas but also forward facing roof lights which are illegal as well,

I think that you will find that it is not the lights on roofs that are illegal in themselves - afterall some cars have them as standard - but the setup and how many etc - there is a limit on how many forward facing lights a vehicle can have and usually there are four on the roof in addition to the cars OEM lights on the front and then there are usually two spotties on the front. There are height restrictions as well.

Garry