Hi all,
I've had brought to my attention an interesting issue with bullbars in
Australia. The guts of it is as follows:
Cars with bullbars have been found to be far more likely to kill pedestrians
in a collision than cars without (particularly those with attachments such
as rod holders). The government, specifically the department of
infrastructure, is taking final submissions on a public consultation for a
change of rules that will mean bullbars will be illegal in Australia. As
far as I can tell that means unless people actually have a say on the issue
this is going through. How it has made it this far along without causing a
stir is anyone's guess. One reason given for the changes is that similar
rules have been introduced in Europe, which I think is pretty silly given
how different our fauna is here. On the other hand, maybe it would be a
good thing if people had to actually slow down for wildlife? On the
pedestrian council page they talk about a flexible plastic bar that could be
interesting, so maybe not all kinds of bullbars will be illegal, just rigid
metal ones?
Anyway, I figured since a lot of birders probably use 4WDs with bullbars it
may be of interest. I've included some links below so you can fill yourself
in and decide which side of the issue you fall on.
Regards,
Chris
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/25/3120821.htm
<http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/25/3120821.htm>
http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/environment/files/Pedestrian_safety_RIS_PUBLIC_CONSULT_FINAL.pdf
<http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/environment/files/Pedestrian_safety_RIS_PUBLIC_CONSULT_FINAL.pdf>
http://www.4wdcouncil.com.au/
<http://www.4wdcouncil.com.au/>
http://www.walk.com.au/pedestriancouncil/Page.asp?PageID=130
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