Date:         Mon, 22 Oct 2001 19:46:13 +1200
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: crashing....
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>How far out does a roo bar/catcher extend?  Does the
>state get involved in what you can and can't extend
>from the front of a van?
>
>I think a properly deisgned roo bar could add to
>safety in a crash by adding crush space.  Any
>mechanical engineers out there who know how to design
>these things?

Bullbars have been implicated in making what should have been minor
acidents into major ones. For instance, a Toyota Hiace with steel bullbar
hit a Datsun Sunny 120Y (=B210) which ran an country intersection. If the
van hadn't had a bar the car would've just brushed across its nose. However
the bar was there, and embedded itself in the side of the speeding car. The
impact wrenched the van sideways, flipping it into a telephone pole and
killing several passengers. A bit of a fluke, but accidents of this sort
WILL happen. This isn't why I pulled the alloy roobar (well, it's
Australian-made) off my Caravelle. An aluminum bar is sfot, and will not
stop a large animal causing major damage; the bar will just fold back and
do the damage itself.