Damn!
Too late to tune in (via the net)!
Anything of note mentioned?
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I think bull bars are to be banned from next year or the year after,unless they are pedestrian friendly
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How do you make bull bars pedestrian friendly?
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I've mentioned before that Bull bars are seemingly inappropriate for UK driving - especially on the Sainsbury run.
But diversifying a bit, there was an amazing story here recently about a new way to stop large animals jumping in front of your vehicle.
I've seen a corolla panelvan which hit a large Kudu (antelope), and it wasn't pretty - these things weigh about a ton and a half - and a normally airborne when you thump them.
It seems the poor beasts are transfixed by the beams, but then, as the vehicle approaches very close, the antelope's shadows moves, which it sees in its periphery, and leaps away from the shadow, normally in front of the vehicle!
(Kudu are a bit dense - if they were human, you'd find them doing 60 in the middle lane of the M1)
But, zoologists have discovered that if the driver leaves his internal light on, for some reason the antelopes WON'T jump into it!
Another tactic which seems to work is the fitting of a high-pitched whistle (like a silent dog whistle) to the radio antenna, which frightens the beasts away.
Next time I'm out in the sticks, I intend to buy one.
By the way, so far, my roadkill total stands at one small deer and a jackal.
Enough of the David Attenborough stuff - I thought I'd share a fascinating story
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I can certainly confirm that hitting a Kudu can make one heck of a mess. I hit one late at night while driving between Windhoek and Swakopmund when we lived there.
It was only an adolescent (still with it's mother), but the impact pushed the engine of my Big-Six back by about 3 inches.
Thankfully, we were travelling fast enough to flip the animal over the top of the car rather than the usual outcome which is a pair of very sharp horns coming through the windshield. The cop who came out to help us said that around 100 people per year were killed on that road by Kudu.
The other theory about interior lights is that the Kudu jumps into the darkness _behind_ the vehicles lights. Might be fun trying it with a pickup ;-)
Regards, Kevin...
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Certain designs of bull bar (I think the plastic type Land Rover use) can offer more pedestrian safety than no bull bars at all.
In an accident it's the pressure applied to the victim's body that causes the damage. This can be reduced by reducing the force applied (soaking up the impact) or increasing the area over which it is applied. Traditional fixed metal bull bars are notoriously bad at doing either.
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I think bull bars are to be banned as original equipment, but you can still buy them as accessories. What's the point of that?
Has anyone out there got bull bars? What are they for?
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Darcy, here, in certain areas, they are a neccesity (see above) but again I say, what is the point in suburbia
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Bull bars on fourbefours are about protecting the vehicle when you slide into something or when you tip over. There is no need for them on the road but they are a perfectly valid addition to an off roader which does have to go off road. (it's a pity these are few and far between). In some environments it is valid and necessary to have every thing from bars and plates protecting the underside to a full external roll cage. (fitted to US spec LR Defenders to get them through crash testing I believe). If I dared to take a 20 thousand pound vehicle off road then I would want as much protection as possible.
No-one would be worrying about this if it wasn't for the fact that most fourbefours are used for the school run.
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