Offroad-Express

http://takeaction.4wdaction.com.au/

AUSSIE GOVERNMENT PLANS TO BAN BULLBARS

The most important modification you can make to your 4WD is a bullbar. Not only does it allow you to run a winch, lights and gives you a mounting place for your UHF aerial, most importantly it protects your vehicle and the people inside it against animal strikes.

Hidden under the disguise of pedestrian safety, a minority group wants bullbars banned, and what’s worse is that the government agrees with them.

They want European regulations brought into Australia, and if these regulations (GTR9) are brought in, the aftermarket industry will not be able to make bullbars or even nudge bars comply. Bullbars will be banned. Commonsense (lacking in many government decisions lately) tells us that European regulations don’t have any place in Australia and won’t work. Our road conditions are very different. Animal strikes are a very common occurrence in Australia.

Their spin is that this will only affect new vehicles. However, we know this will eventually mean the ban of all bullbars.

4WD touring in Australia will end.

You are probably thinking adopting these regulations is so crazy and absurd that banning bullbars could never happen. Believe me, this is very real and is happening now. This will affect every 4WD owner.

Here’s how you can stop this:

Send the letter below to voice your protest to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese. It will take under a minute and could potentially save 4WD touring in this country.

The government only listens to one thing, how many votes they stand to lose. With the 4WD community standing together on this, they stand to lose many votes. We need to make a difference, take action and let commonsense prevail.

We NEED your response and we need you to take action today.

Together we can stop this unAustralian nonsense.


http://takeaction.4wdaction.com.au/


send your message of support, these idiots over here will copy the aussies. european roads are different to australasian conditions

This is the sort of thing our PC government would do if it could too.
The greenies would love to make it harder for gus guzzling 4wds to be on the road.

been hearing about this for at least 25 years.

put a submission in with the link .... support our neighbours

yes

friendly roo bar that pretend bar wouldnt stop a wet paper bag

the unfortunate down side to this is, if they ban them, people will die from roo's going through there windscreens,

so it will be a matter of a body count before it is reversed.

and anyway, how many pedestrians do you see walking around in the outback

Well I wonder how many pedestrians have got hit by 4wd's with bull bars in the last couple of years? funny how you never see any statistics with the claims people make.

Support message sent.

you should see some of the bar setups over there... some of them look like stuff from Mad Max, Road Warrior... then again I scared myself when a roo jumped over the bonnet at a 80, if it does come to pass it will be something similar to what they talk about every now and then here where comercail vehicles involved in farming and forestry are exempt and I'd guess they'd add recognised 4wd clubs too as thats a large user group to piss off

I've been asked on more than one ocasion to do bar work on family wagons becouse the wife can't drive

Just in case I recomend to all the guys that come through the shop who are getting cert work to ask for the bars to be added to the plates...

Cheers Reece

Belows an email I got at work with a bit more information in it, they are doing a survey, but as its trying to provide information on the high number off roo stikes I guess you guys doing it, wont help the cause.

The thing everyone in NZ needs to remember is that all your bullbars, ARB, TJM and the like are all Aussie built, so what ever changes that are done here they will have a flow on effect over there.

Personally, in the 3 months Ive been here, Ive had 2 near misses with Roos as i do alot off rural driving for work, and Ive seen the damage a Roo vs 2010 Hilux with no bullbar can do and they were both left dead on the side off the road (the Hilux and Roo not the driver luckly)

You should all be aware that the Federal Government is currently considering the adoption of European developed (UNECE) regulations governing the design and safety performance of vehicles that come into contact with pedestrians.
If this regulation is adopted in full, there would be a requirement for every new vehicle sold in Australia to meet pedestrian safety criteria, which would be administered via the Australian Design Rule (ADR) process.


While it is reasonable that regulators look at vehicle designs to reduce harm to pedestrians, this regulation also incorporates the design and performance of vehicle frontal protection systems (bull bars & nudge bars). The full adoption of this standard could spell the end of the Australian steel and alloy bull bar as we know them.

As part of this process the Federal Government has prepared a Regulation Impact Statement and has invited public comment over a three month period (ending 15 April 2011) which they say will be factored into their final decision process. To read and respond to the Federal Government Regulation Impact Statement for Pedestrian Safety Standards, visit:


[url]
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/ ... _FINAL.pdf[/url]


Four Wheel Drive Australia has been working closely with the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) through the 4WD Industry Council which has been consulting closely with Government and other key stakeholders such as the vehicle manufacturers and other industry associations on this issue for over 18 months and our activities are being coordinated via a Bull Bar sub-committee. They have already been successful in lobbying for some concessions to the main recommendations contained in the RIS however these concessions are no way near
enough. Although the RIS seems to indicate that Frontal Protection Systems are not going to be banned – it does not stop them from incurring significant design constraints which could stop their effectiveness. What is clear is that the bureaucrats that are leading this push seem unaware that Bull Bars save lives every day in semi-rural, rural and remote regions across Australia.

To assist in gathering up-to-date data to support our submission, the 4WD Industry Council has developed an online survey to be completed by vehicle owners on the use of bull and nudge bars. The objective of the survey is to learn more about vehicle types, driving patterns and critical safety issues, such as animal strikes and other impacts. This information will assist us to address the lack of uniform data about the estimated 25,000 to 30,000 vehicle-to-animal strikes occurring each year across Australia.
We do not believe that good regulatory decisions can be made without proper research and without canvassing all key issues.

Please go to (and direct any other road user to) the following link http://www.4wdcouncil.com.au to complete the survey. For every person completing the questionnaire, the AAAA will donate $1 to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, to a maximum of $20,000.

http://www.4wdcouncil.com.au/

The thing everyone in NZ needs to remember is that all your bullbars, ARB, TJM and the like are all Aussie built, so what ever changes that are done here they will have a flow on effect over there.

It will mean that newer vehicles will not be able to get bolt on bars as an option, or more likely the protection offered will be alot less form them effectivly turning them into the true fashion accessory that they are for alot of new vehicles
It will not stop bullbars being fitted here as MC class vehicles (offroad 4wd's) in the cert rules arn't required to have frontal crumple zones, it will just mean after they are made and fitted you will need to get them certed
The big bullbar makers have independent crash tests done to prove there poduct dosn't effect the safety of the vehicles that is why they are allowed to be bolted on

From the point of veiw of pedestrian injurys this would be a good thing for New Zealand as only those that need them will have them, Aussy is a wee bit different kangaroo's are something else a damm site bigger than the average nz sheep and they don't seem to be scared of traffic

Cheers Reece

De-Ranged wrote:

The thing everyone in NZ needs to remember is that all your bullbars, ARB, TJM and the like are all Aussie built, so what ever changes that are done here they will have a flow on effect over there.

It will mean that newer vehicles will not be able to get bolt on bars as an option, or more likely the protection offered will be alot less form them effectivly turning them into the true fashion accessory that they are for alot of new vehicles
It will not stop bullbars being fitted here as MC class vehicles (offroad 4wd's) in the cert rules arn't required to have frontal crumple zones, it will just mean after they are made and fitted you will need to get them certed
The big bullbar makers have independent crash tests done to prove there poduct dosn't effect the safety of the vehicles that is why they are allowed to be bolted on

From the point of veiw of pedestrian injurys this would be a good thing for New Zealand as only those that need them will have them, Aussy is a wee bit different kangaroo's are something else a damm site bigger than the average nz sheep and they don't seem to be scared of traffic

Cheers Reece

Possums and hedgehogs dont make the same mess

Update on issue.

http://takeaction.4wdaction.com.au/

GOVERNMENT PLANS TO BAN BULLBARS
Wow, my thanks, everybody at 4WD Action’s thanks, all your mate’s thanks and . let’s face it . every Australian kid’s thanks go out to the 20,000 plus people who’ve fired off emails letting the government know what we think of their ridiculous R.I.S. draft proposing a ban on bull bars.
People, we shook their tree big time! We’ve caused such a stir through sheer power of numbers the Minister has already released a statement acknowledging the safety aspects of bullbars and that they’re not planning on banning them. Unfortunately that statement has a couple of loop holes . they reckon two wheel drive vehicles don’t need bullbars and they want a ‘design regulation’ in place.
Yep, well on behalf of all my mates in remote areas who use utes and cars to get their kids to school, distinguishing between cars and trucks is nonsense. And do we really want the same mob who wanted to ban bars last week determining what makes for a strong and useful bull bar in the future?
No way! Folks, there’s no rest on this issue. Tell your mum, your dad, your neighbours and everybody you know to get fair dinkum and fire an email protesting this latest act of government stupidity to ADDRESS... And bung in a few more yourself because this is just the thin edge of the wedge.
The worst thing is this garbage is being pushed by the Pedestrian Council. I thought they representED all pedestrians until I realised I’m a pedestrian, and nobody ever asked me!
Don’t let a minority group steal our lifestyle.e are the majority, it’s our country . act now, before it’s too late!


LATEST UPDATE 9/2/11. THE GOVERNMENT ON THE BACK FOOT•4WD Action readers. emails have sent the Government into damage control!
•Your 20,000 plus emails so far are working but we MUST send many more this week to prevent bullbars being banned.
•This is fantastic news. The Government is starting to listen to us all. We need to keep telling them this is unacceptable.
Two weeks ago we alerted the 4WD community via our website that the government is trying to ban bullbars. Many of you have read the Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) and understand the threat of bullbars being phased out is real. The 127 page (RIS) document that was released on 13 January, 2011 outlines what the Department of Infrastructure and Transport plans to introduce under the guise of pedestrian safety. This document is deliberately confusing in an attempt to diffuse the issue, while the accident analysis is misleading and incorrect.
A minority group, the Pedestrian Council supports this and has been trying to get bullbars banned for the last 15 years as they believe they compromise pedestrian safety. What’s alarming is the fact that the government has actually listened to the scaremongering and misleading information this minority group regularly promotes.
Despite how you interpret the RIS document, or the governent’s latest misleading press release - the one thing that is certain, we won’t accept this! The federal government have a track record of back-flipping when it comes to bullbars, especially when the states put pressure on them. We saw it happen in 2008 when the federal government tried to mandate the Australian standard for Bull Bars. The states objected - the next thing we knew it was off the agenda completely.
HERE’S THE SCORE
4WD enthusiasts (members of the 4WD Action Family) are the most passionate bunch of Australian’s, especially when their lifestyle and safety is at risk. So far we have been putting pressure on the government and sending protest emails to the Minister, Anthony Albanese to demonstrate to him that we will not stand for their proposal to ban bullbars.
Our efforts are working extremely well!
•In the first hour of our campaign over 1,500 people had already sent a letter to the Minister.
•Just after the first hour of our campaign our server crashed because of the sheer number of angry 4WDers viewing our website and sending their letter into the minister. We have been informed to make the server crash there would need to be at least 70-80 people trying to access the one page per second!
•After two weeks we have recorded just shy of 20,000 emails of protest that have been sent to the Minister.
•Now the Department of Infrastructure and Transport have been contacting us to re-direct the emails receiving from 4WDers as they are (to quote them) “clogging up their system”.
WE MUST NOT AND WILL NOT STOP SENDING EMAILS!
This is a great start and we are seeing signs that 4WDers are being taken seriously and our efforts are working. We can’t stop now. If the government thinks that 4WDers have sent a lot of emails already, they haven’t seen what we can do when we unite and really turn the pressure up. We need to keep sending emails to the Minister. We need to inform everyone we know and get as many people to send an email to the Minister, Anthony Albanese to show the government that we do not accept their proposal. If you know somebody who hasn’t sent their email in yet, please encourage them now! It will make a difference. Imagine what the government will think when we open the flood gates and quadruple this number. That means we need everyone sending this email now!
LATEST UPDATE 9/2/11
Our efforts are working so well that they have caused the government to go into ‘damage control’ and issue a press release aimed at our campaign. The misleading title, “Government Will Not Ban Bull Bars” released 8 February 2011 is the Government’s way of handling the public outcry from Australian 4WDers and road users. The two main points from the press release are below and my corresponding comments are in red. The only positive point we can take out of this press release is the fact that the government acknowledges the occupant safety aspect of bullbars and how they are needed in Australia.
•For vehicles not designed for off-road use, such as passenger cars, a standard similar to that required in Europe and in the pedestrian safety standard itself; and (This means that 2WD vehicles will not be able to use a bullbar. The Department of Transport and Infrastructure’s preferred option is that 2WD Passenger andLight Commercial Vehicles adhere to the European directive and not the Australian Standard. If you drive any of these vehicles: Holden Commodore, Ford Falcon, Ford Territory, Toyota Camry, Toyota Hilux 2WD, Mitsubishi Triton2WD, Holden Rodeo 2WD, Toyota Kluger 2WD. regardless of where you live, the Australian Standard for Bull Bars will NO LONGER apply. Bullbars will be banned on these vehicles. These vehicles also travel in regional, remote and rural areas. The government needs to be reminded that not all Australians live in the CBD of a major city - doesn’t their safety against animal strikes count as well? Bullbars as we know them know in Australia will not comply with the European standards.
•For vehicles designed for off-road use, such as most four wheel drive vehicles, the standard proposed is an Australian standard designed and developed with industry involvement and would allow for metal bull bars to be used. (Again, what will these bullbars be like? Will they provide sufficient safety from animal strikes and still allow us to run accessories such as winches, aerials and lights? This is a very vague statement and something we shouldn’t simply agree with as this could be interpreted in many different ways. Remember the Pedestrian Council (the MINORITY group who supports this) who wants bullbars and ultimately 4WDs banned if they had their own way. This does not necessarily mean that 4WDers can rest assured that bullbars won’t be banned in the form that we know them now. If they introduce GTR 09 on cars and either renege on this point (which they can easily do as it’s only a discussion paper at this stage) or remove the section on Bull Bars completely then it’s game over for steel and alloy bars.

the power of the people has won over the ruling:

http://www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/ck/releases/2011/February/CK006_2011.htm