Legality of brush gaurd

[volver]

Whats the law for brush gaurds? How thick and meaty can it be?

An off the shelf gaurd dosen't really do anything if you hit a deer doing 45mph. It just bends and smashes into the hood and light and radiator.. the list goes on.

So i would like to build something that uses some thick walled tubing and bolts to the frame in multiple places. Maybe have some lights on there.

I could deck this thing out with 1/2 steel plate, to make it into a tank.

I see lots of upsides to having a strong brushgaurd. But of the down sides. What if i hit another car and splater everyone inside. My explorer was desinged to have a frontal crumpel zone. The car is supposed to sacrafice itself to save me and anyone who i decide to run over. If i put a gaurd that will stop my car before my crumpel zone smahes how will that effect me in an accident will I fly out the windshield?

How does something like that affect my insurance?
Does a strong brush gaurd count as raised bumper?

Does any one know the rules for bumpers and brush gaurds when the vehicle is used on the road?

 

[IZwack]

I dont think there are any rules for brushguards -- there are rules as to how many lights you can have (at least in some states), but I dont know of any rules for brushguards.

As for how it will affect the crumple zone, it all depends on how you mount it so we can't really tell you how it will affect the crumple zones until we know where the stress from the bumper will be transfered to the chassis.

 

[volver]

The best option would be to not get in an accident in the first place.

Car desiners have to build cars so they crash safely. Becasue of laws.

What if i cover up those safeties?

For argument sake, say it is night and i am driving and i have covered my light with duck tape. No one can see me. I then crash in to a small car and kill the driver. Most likely i will be held responsible for killing the driver. I removed the safeties

So if i put a giant death spike on the front of my car and crash in to some one and they die i assume i will be held responsible.

I dont want to have a huge thick bumper/brushgaurd of death. i want one that will defect deer at 45 miles an hour but when i crash into a car it will break.

So i assume that there are laws for brush gaurd strength. I would like to build a gaurd that will meet those limitations.

I was wondering if anyone could confirm my assumetions?

I live in Illinois we have a bumper law that states that a car weighing 2 tons or less cannot have a bumper more than 24 inches off the ground. Do you think a brush gaurd counts as a bumper?

 

[XLT]

I really dont think beefiness (spelling? even a real word?) is much of an issue. I have seen some trucks that are sporting a brand new metal bumper with brush guard built in. I read on here some one said it weighed over 200 pounds. Its called armor something or orther. Maybe road armor. THe only law regarding brush guards that i have heard but am not 100% sure on is that they can not cover up your head lights. I have a manik brushguard thats going to be going on my truck but i can take out the little headlight inserts if i wish too. But i have never had any problems in the past with my old truck.

 

[heathmo]

Qca!

Hey, volver, noticed you're not far from me, I used to live out by Milan, got a couple of friends out there still. Honestly I wouldn't worry too much about it. I know Milan cops aren't the greatest, but I seriously wonder if they'd know those gray areas much better, I see trucks around here with grille guards all the time. Granted they tend to get the prebuilt, bolt-on types, and what you're talking about is much tougher, which is what I'm looking for as well. But I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I'm doubting they'd count it as a bumper unless you built it all together, like a bumper brush guard, like I'm looking to do. But we live in a very farm oriented area, with a lot of rednecks. Most have trucks that they like to deck out.

Yes, a stronger one won't crumple like most were designed for, but I had an 88 Caprice and it didn't have crumple zones. You could do some damage with something strong, but most of the time your Explorer will probably destroy the other car anyways. I see quite a few Jeeps as well with custom bumpers and winch mounts and hi-jack mounts. Another thing you need to worry about is weight, you don't want your front end so heavy that it sags bad. There are lots of guys on here with custom bumpers, search and see what you like, maybe take some of their ideas.

As far as the other stuff, no clue. You'd have to ask your company about it, but I've never had an agent actually inspect my vehicle.

If you need help with anything, my brother and I are always up for a new challenge. If you're looking to wheel too, we are too, just gotta get ours all set up too. Well good luck.

 

[Donner]

If you put tape over your lights, you had intent to do or cause harm or destruction. If you live in FL you can carry a gun legally: you can use it to defend yourself or kill without remorse all strangers you see.

If you build a giant death spike, that is your intent - to cause death. If you remove your airbags and have a crash, you will be held responsible.

If you don't know the law, and feel you are doing something wrong, follow your morals and you'll likely be within the law. Don't build a bumper, buy one, or leave the vehicle as is.

 

[Donner]

http://law.onecle.com/illinois/625ilcs5/12-608.html

Still looking...

 

[zonianbrat]

Guess you need to look more into the laws in your area. I am currently working near the Colorado/Wyoming border. The closest town is Baggs WY. This is considered prime hunting country as I see deer and antalope all the time. The people of Baggs know how many deer there are and they have somebody in town I assume that builds them beefy steel bumpers. I saw a minivan with a rather large steel deer killer bumper. I am going to attempt to find out who builds them and see how much it would be to build one for my truck. We also have company trucks (1 ton Dodge's) that have custom steel bumpers that would destroy a compact car if they ever came into contact. So bottom line is atleast out here nobody really cares about how big your bumper is.

 

[Donner]

^^ External roll cage, example.

 

[Htown451]

i skimed over that law, it sounds like as long as it meets the requirment of the height issue you make that thing as badass as you want, and when your worrying about responsibilty... whatever kind of accident it is, think about how it would happen and then you can decided whose fault it is i mean, if someone smashes into head on and your driving perfect, and your huge gaurd kills them its only cause they ran into you, or if you hit some one with it, regardless of if they die or not, your still at fault for hitting them the bumper dosent really change much of "faultyness"

 

[medicbro2000]

I would try not to get to held up on legal issues with brush guards. The whole "lighting" issues tends to be surrounded by how many lights can be on or lit at a time, not how many you can install. I have 7 off road lights on my truck and, well, I'm a cop and no one else I work with or know has given me grief or instructed me other wise- only that i need a big battery and alternator lol!!!

I know that in most states, any accessory light - fog light- mounted above the headlight needs to be covered when driving on the public highway. Off road use, anything goes. As far as thickness etc... I have not heard of any laws. Visibility is key, so don't make it too think and block your headlight. I think that is where the 'legal' concept is centered around. So be reasonable.

Someone told me about the headlight protector part of brush guards in some states will have the cops up your 5th point of contact but seriously..... how big of an issue is this? I wouldn't worry about much in the "legal" world, but just have your lights covered if above the headlights and just be sure your headlights are still cleary visible and project out to the recommended distance for viewing.

As far as security or crash protection- no brushguard out there is designed to be impact resistant or to protect your vehicle from a crash. The whole idea of having a brush guard is to GUARD you vehicle from BRUSH, or, as I have found, keep your headlights and other front end parts - radiator- protected from sticks branches and trail debris. If you end up in a crash with your vehicle, chances are you will need to rebuild your brushguard along with your car.... make sure you insurance company knows you have one installed so you can get it covered.

I have one on my ranger and love it. I am sure you will love yours too if you get one. I had one on my 94 X that I removed before I got rid of it. I still have it kicking around because these things are sometimes hard to come by. Your own self design is never a bad idea, because then you can bend it and make one to your own liking. Personally, i suck with metal fabrication and welding so I took the lazy route.

Hope you find the answers youre looking for. Best of luck