Regional Australians have been concerned in the past couple of months about reports that European standards might be applied to Australian bullbars potentially compromising safety of vehicle occupants.
“Although the Labor government has ruled out a ‘ban’ of bullbars, there are still many questions left unanswered about the application of a European standard to Australian conditions. I didn’t see too many kangaroos last time I was in Europe” Senator Joyce said today.
“In all fairness, I do not think that a European road is comparable to the Mitchell-St George Road at dawn or dusk for example.
“Officials from the Department of Infrastructure and Transport could not provide information about how many deaths or injuries are actually caused by bullbars at the moment. They couldn’t provide a guarantee that a European standard would be suited to Australian conditions and there was no clear indication of exactly what a European standard would mean for Australian vehicle owners in practice.
“At one stage an official admitted that they ‘Haven’t done any investigations on any of the current bullbars’.
“The bottom line is the current proposal appears half-baked.
“We are fully aware of the consequences to pedestrians of when they are hit by a car; but we also have to be aware of the consequences to a mother and child driving along a rural road who hits a kangaroo or a cow on their way home from school of an afternoon.
“Nobody wants pedestrian deaths, but we do not want to put people driving on country roads at risk either.”