Bullbar ban gains momentum as 892 vehicles fined in Pune

Recently, cops in many Indian cities started taking action against cars with bullbars after union transport ministry’s letter to the states. Reports from Delhi, Tamilnadu and Jharkhand already shows that the cops are taking strict action against the vehicles with bullbars. Now, Pune has started the drive against such vehicles and as many as 892 challans were issued to collect Rs. 4.51 lakh.

The drive started 12 days ago and affects all the vehicles with the illegal fitment of crash guards and bull bars. According to a traffic inspector, the drive will continue to happen in the coming days. The action was taken under sections 190 and 191 of the Motor Vehicles Act which prescribes Rs. 1,000 fine for the first time offence and Rs. 2,000 on repeat offence. A provision is also there to penalise Rs. 5,000 for the sellers of bull bars and crash guards under the act.

V V Bajare, traffic inspector in Pune says,

“The crash guards or bull bars on vehicles pose a serious safety concern for pedestrians as well as occupants of the vehicle, the bonnet of four-wheelers has been designed for the safety of pedestrians. If a vehicle knocks down a pedestrian, he is flung on the bonnet due to the impact and its design prevents him from getting away from the car and subsequently receive less injuries,” Bajare said adding, “Crash guards or bull bars can cause death of the victim.”

In the future, we will see many such drives in the coming time as more states may join the movement soon. In its letter to the transport commissioners of all the Indian states, the union transport ministry pointed out that bullbars are illegal under Section 52 of the Motor Vehicle Act. Bullbars can interfere with the deployment of airbags in the vehicle. Such crash guards can also injure pedestrians seriously during an accident.