Bull bar ban reaches Chandigarh, over 300 cars & SUVs fined

Thanks to an increased focus on implementing the ban on bull bars, traffic cops in many cities have started nabbing the offenders and fining them. The latest to join the bandwagon is the Chandigarh Traffic Police, which is already known to be the most strict traffic police force in the country. The traffic police of Chandigarh announced that it has fined a total of 300 people for installing bull bars on their four-wheelers. A fine of Rs 1,000 was collected from every offender. “A majority of the challaned vehicles belong to the SUV category. A few heavy load vehicles, including Tata 407, mini trucks, were also among the challaned vehicles. Crash guards on the rear are accepted but installing bull bars on the front side is an offence,” said traffic police sources.  It is being said that the vehicles which has been challaned include those registered in Chandigarh and even neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.

ALSO SEE- 5 Reasons Why Bull Bars are Banned

Dr O P Mishra, DIG, Chandigarh (UT) said, “During the challan drive against crash guards, we observed that people were not aware of the fact that installation of crash guards is a traffic offence. On this observation, we have included this offence in our awareness drives, conducted at educational institution, government offices, markets and other public places. There is a need to educate people about this offence.” A dealer of car accessories at the city’s motor market in Sector 28 has reportedly said, “Since the ban on crash guards was implemented, people have stopped purchasing them. We had a market for people, especially from Punjab. But now, people only prefer to install these guards on the vehicles’ rear”

The drive against bull bars picked up steam after the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) sent a letter to transport commissioners of all states of India to direct them to start taking steps to eradicate the usage of bull bars on cars. It may be noted here the use of bull bars is illegal as per the Motor Vehicles Act. Hence, the owners of cars and SUVs fitted with bull bars are liable to pay fine. Many other states in India, including Delhi, Gujrat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Tamilnadu have started acting against car and SUV owners who have fitted a bull bar on their vehicle. Bull bars interfere with the working of safety features, such as crumple zones and airbags, thereby rendering them pretty useless in an event of a crash. This ban on bull bar has been challenged in a Delhi High Court by a car accessories dealer and manufacturer. The court is yet to announce a verdict on this.

Image- ChandigarhMetro.com, IndianExpress