Legalities of additional steel/iron bumpers on vehicles...

[brandonology1]

Good day tuners,
I am interested in finding out about additional steel bumpers on vans. My colleagues and I have installed addition reinforced bumpers on our vehicles. It has come to my attention that these additions may affect who is responsible during an accident. Can anyone shead some light on this topic?
In my opinion, I fear the day god forbid I get into an accident with my crashbar and iron bumpers for it may severely damage the other party an their vehicle.
Thanks for your info....

[brandonology1]

Anyone?

[3stagevtec]

When we had asked at License office, they said legally it will not matter.

Having a steel bumper will also not affect who is wrong in an accident, that will be the result of the police investigation into how the accident was caused.

In a severe accident, your van will crush as the manufacturer intended. Remember your bumper is bolted onto the front of your chassis, which is engineered to crumple in an impact. One of our vans was involved in a small rear end collision, the van survived with a smudge on the bumper paint and a bent winch fairlead.. The AD wagon needed a new tailgate, wasn't pretty.. lol. You do get increased 'protection' against small accidents with them, which is a plus for you imo, wouldn't be as nice for whoever you hit obviously..

[brandonology1]

^suspected as such. Thanks btw
I guess that may be the advantage for lightly modified bumpers. As long as there is no harsh penalty for such, no problems on my side.
Altho, with some of the guys who run arb bumpers n so on, any vehicle barely stands a chance with a collosion with that. Those things are deadly.
At the end of the day, I guess its to jus be safe and hope that nobode decides to drive into my van....

[Paullct]

i doubt a collision with an arb bumper would do anything to the bumpers on my truck

[brandonology1]

Lolz... Hard iron will always handle hard iron!
Its them plastic thing we have to worry abt

[zoom rader]

In the UK there are laws for additional steel bumpers, don't think trini reach that stage as usual .

[De Dragon]

No matter the material of construction, your bumper is still bolted to the mounting points on the chassis that a softer bumper is. So don't expect any additional protection in severe front/rear end collisions. As someone else said, you may fare better in fender benders, but in a higher speed crash your vehicle will react like it was designed to.

[lighthammer]

ARB and Ironman bumpers are designed to bolt onto the crush-zones of the chassis and they're designed to retain the functionality of the airbag sensors. If you look on the ARB website or any information regarding ARB/Ironman bumpers, they make that statement clear (this is a requirement of Australian law where the bumpers are made). Even the mounting brackets are designed to mimic the purposes of factory mounts in case of frontal collision.

Those steel bumpers were actually originally designed to deflect kangaroo hits while driving at high speed on outback desert roads in australia (true story!). so anything under 120kg (the size of an adult male bull kangaroo) will easily be deflected. A large 2-ton vehicle is a different story, at that point the bumper will act the same as a regular factory bumper. (the weight will exceed the bumpers tensile strength limit and it will deform similarly to a plastic bumper).

DIY and homemade bumpers may be a different story, it depends more on the fabricator/installer and how strong they design it. If they designed it to withstand massive shock, eg. robbing a bank and stealing a safe in Rio, Brazil, then it's a different kettle of fish.


Either way, when it comes to a 3900lb truck/suv vs. 2900lb car, the heavier vehicle usually wins.

[Big Z]

Great info there lighthammer.... I see a custom bumper coming.

[lighthammer]

Here's a couple videos for some more information on ARB bumpers.

** note *** I don't sell or work for any agencies here in Trinidad that sell/install ARB bumpers. I just happen to know a lot about them, from my past experiences both hands on and from reading.















This last one is a crash test video for another brand of iron bumper called "Smart Alloy"
I suspect the design differences between the different brands are minor, but the application and safety design are very similar. (**this video is quite interesting and worth watching)

[brandonology1]

^ excellent stuff there! Much appreciated... I guess I dont have much to worry about then. No matter what tho... you gotta rate ARB.... some nice engineering goes on there...

[rottedv]

As 3stagevtec said, legally it doesn't matter. Where the real question lies is in insurance claims and licensing office with respect to inspections etc. Anyone care to elaborate?

[Paullct]

I had no issue inspecting my truck with my steel bumpers

[brandonology1]

Wel ik when passing a vehicle over the pit... the sometimes take these things into consideration.... in not sure how it goes with respect to the insurance claims and what not

[tripplediamond]

Good day, i know this is an old post but i have a few questions guys...

Has anyone ever gone to liscencing Office to get permission for the additional steel bumpers, lift kit etc? If so did you have the re weigh to change the TARE? What was or is the process and how much is it to do? Inspection bay is saying i have to get permission from LO before they can inspect my van....

[MadCrix]

you have to go reweigh. its a simple process. not expensive

[coolfiger]

Visit http://ttora.rocks they have a outlined doc with details on everything .