We often have customers ring up with a question that's been eating at their brains...

I see you're selling bullbars, aren't these illegal?

Answer: No

Auto Styling only sells bull bars that are fully legal and EU compliant. Most bull bars or nudge guards are now labelled by manufacturers as A bars or front bars to avoid associating the name with the original fitment and 'use' of the accessories.

Bull bars or nudge guards originated in Australia and were primarily used as protection for a vehicle and it's passengers in the event of a collision with an animal, 'nudging' them aside, hence the name. These sturdy bars started to become popular in Europe despite having a lack of 'wild animals'. Facts show that the rigid bars were causing accidents and collisions to be worsened, particularly where pedestrians were involved. Accidents that could have remained minor were resulting in serious injuries and even deaths due to the 'indestructible' accessories, with numbers rapidly rising in result of these increasingly popular bars.

On 25th May 2007 older style bull bars were made illegal. Any new bull or nudge guards are promoted as 'frontal protection systems' i.e. Front bars and A bars and have to be fully EU compliant.

What Does EU Compliant Mean?

All frontal protection systems now have to be EU compliant, meaning: the front bars have been tested and have ticked all boxes in compliance with the new law.

• A minimum level of protection for pedestrians
• The bar is type-approved for the vehicles they are intended to fit
• The bar has been crash tested to deem that in the event of a collision with a pedestrian, any injury caused will be reduced in comparison to a vehicle without a front bar

New EU compliant frontal protection systems are mostly fitted for cosmetic purposes. They look good on your vehicle. These front bars are simply no good as a 'nudge guard', they are not designed for rough and tumble.

Some people might think...

I would rather risk fitting an old style nudge guard, that is what I want so that is what I will have.

Think again.

In the event of an accident your insurance claim will not be accepted due to the illegal accessory fitted to your vehicle. Fitting an illegal bull bar will also make your insurance premiums sky high. But that's not all... you could face a penalty of up to 12 months in prison and a substantial £20,000 fine.

Auto Styling's range of frontal protection systems are manufactured by either Cobra or Misutonida. All of these products are EU compliant and TUV certified and each item has its own EU compliance certificate.

See the full range of AutoStyling bullbars for 4x4»