Bull bars legal?

Can anyone tell me if bull bars are legal , I’m after some for my defender and some people think there not allowed

Not again lol

From the Dvla site..

It is not illegal for vehicles to be fitted with bull bars, although the department would not recommend their fitment unless it has been shown, through compliance with specified safety standards, that they do not pose an additional risk of injury to pedestrians or other vulnerable road users.

There are no plans for legislation to require bull bars that are already fitted to be removed. However, since 25 May 2007, it has been an offence for bull bars that have not been approved as compliant with those safety standards to be sold. Approved devices will carry an indelible ‘e’ mark (for example: e1 01 1471).

Why just why would you want to fit one...

This worth a read as it concerns the selling of bull bars by a business:
https://www.roughtrax4x4.com/blog/why-is-it-illegal-to-sell-bull-bars/

You might also want to speak to your insurers to see if they are prepared to cover a vehicle fitted with a bull bar & if so what extra premium it will incur.

I had this problem when I shipped my NAS Disco 2 over here to England.
The Southampton port said my inbound Disco was illegal because it had a bull bar when in fact it has a steel bumper and winch installed. My Disco was held for a month while I had to get a signed letter from a US 4x4 company stating it was a steel bumper installed and not a bull bar.

I think this raises some interesting issues. Vehicles design and new build standards for pedestrian safety have (righly) continued to evolve and so type approval for new vehicles has set detailed criteria for the shape of the front to lift pedestrians over the bonnet and to spread the impact. I beleive these are industry and interntional rules copied into EU rules. The EU applies type approval to all accessories so they are required to be tested and meet the same crtieria as a new vehicle. This stops you buying a safe new vehicle and putting something dangerous on it. But the UK never signed up to type approval giving us a bit more flexibiity and when Brexit is over we will have our own rules on this. But we have always had duties to protect others and we have the design and construction regulations so just because we don't type approve does not mean its ok to put sharp edges in the front. I think the UK approach is to allow more flexibility, but to make the owner/driver responsible. So, yes you could fit them, you may even be able to make your own, but you may get pulled over and be required to take them off if a Police Officer judges them dangerous, and in the event of a pedestrian being injured by them expect their insurer to pursue you for a lot of money. The burden off proof would be on the driver to show they were safe, and without type approval and loads of test data this would be near impossible. Modification transfers the "ownership" of liability from the vehicle manufacturer to the modifier. I think that's why the company in that link won't supply them, it a big risk downside for a rather naff and not very profitable bit of kit.

Bull bars make sense on vehicles where driving on and off road carries a significant risk of collision with large animals, and where the vehicle is so remote that breaking down due to a collision could put the driver's survival at risk. Kangaroo strikes in the Australian outback, Antelope and the like in parts of Africa. Unless you are building this for some very serious overland travel the only large animals you are likely to hit in East Sussex are people, and it is their survival not yours that is at risk.

Is why beautiful MGs have those stupid black rubber ones

Si Click said:

Bull bars make sense on vehicles where driving on and off road carries a significant risk of collision with large animals, and where the vehicle is so remote that breaking down due to a collision could put the driver's survival at risk. Kangaroo strikes in the Australian outback, Antelope and the like in parts of Africa. Unless you are building this for some very serious overland travel the only large animals you are likely to hit in East Sussex are people, and it is their survival not yours that is at risk.

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I would sooner have a bull bar that would protect the occupants of my vehicle, I have had two very close calls with deer, once in Scotland when I left the road to avoid one and once in Kent when a full size stag stepped out into a narrow lane in front of me, it was dark and wet and thank god for ABS,

Europa486 said:

I would sooner have a bull bar that would protect the occupants of my vehicle

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I've had two encounters with those weird dog looking deers (muntjac) in Thetford forest. It wasn't pretty but at least we weren't hurt and no damage to the Disco.

I've hit deer on two separate occasions , there's deer in the garden today muntjac and dodged 5 reds that ran across the front the landy.
I've dodged loose horses, been surrounded by cows or sheep . All within a mile of the house. I'll keep my bull bar,.
There was no trouble with insurance, the 110 is 1984 and had the bull bar when I got it...

Shippers said:

Why just why would you want to fit one...

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Appears that some people actually want to look like a redneck!

I actually am a redneck, but try and avoid looking like one!

I get the large Oz wildlife thing, but I've had freinds seriously hurt by hitting deer and in every case they came through the windscreen so bull bars would not have helped. The other problem with posing bull bars is that they are canteleavered off the bumper mounts so if you hit something it just bashes the bull bars into the grill and wings and bends the bumper mounts and dumb irons. The non-posing type as fitted in Oz have long struts back to the sills to prevent this.

The posing type just trash the front:

Bull Bars look silly, people will point and laugh.

I’ve decided to not get any and stick with the stock look

Naa, they will look great.....: