MEMORANDUM
TO: ALL ARB SALES STAFF
COPIES OF THIS MEMO MAY BE PROVIDED TO INTERESTED CUSTOMERS
FROM: GREG J. MILTON
SUBJECT: ARB BULL BARS AND NUDGE BARS TO SUIT VEHICLES FITTED WITH “SRS” AIR BAGS
DATE: February 2005 Update
This memorandum is intended to address queries from sales staff and customers regarding ARB’s design and testing process for bull bars and winch mount bull bars to suit “SRS” equipped vehicles.
OVERVIEW
ARB’s range of SRS air bag compatible bull bars, winch bars and nudge bars are:-
• Uniquely designed for each vehicle.
• Legal fitments in all states of Australia.
• Designed, tested and approved so as not to affect the ADR compliance of the vehicle.
• Covered by a full warranty and do not affect vehicle manufacturer’s warranty responsibilities.
• Demonstrably the best value for money product of their type available.
BACKGROUND
A great deal of discussion and argument has been evident on the subject of air bag compatible bull bars and nudge bars since air bags first appeared on 4x4 vehicles. The argument continues today and is potentially quite confusing to not only owners of such vehicles but even to people within the 4x4 vehicle and aftermarket industries.
Essentially, the concern from vehicle engineers, is as follows:-
The air bag triggering system is designed to work in harmony with frontal crush characteristics of a vehicle. These frontal crush characteristics include the design of the bumper assembly, its mounting system, and other components of the vehicle.
On 4x4 vehicles with independent ladder chassis, the manufacturers often also add “crush cans” to the front of the chassis members to ensure that minor impacts (such as hitting a kangaroo) are not read by the air bag sensors as major impacts, prematurely deploying the air bag(s).
Such a premature triggering of the air bag is potentially quite dangerous, and may in fact cause a more severe accident or an injury that would have otherwise occurred.
Likewise, the air bag deploying later than intended by the manufacturer could also endanger life.
It is with these dangers in mind, that engineers approach the subject of fitting bull bars to such vehicles, with the concern being that fitting a rigid structure, not behaving the same as the original frontal characteristics of the vehicle, may change the deployment timing of the air bag.
From early on, ARB took a very careful approach to the subject and initiated some in-depth research on several fronts to ensure that any product that our company produced for these air bag equipped vehicles was not only up to the expectations of our customers in terms of the traditional protection ARB bar owners have come to expect, but also that such bars would be truly legal and appropriate for the vehicle.
Monash University’s Department of Civil Engineering were contracted by ARB on this project for some years, and their expertise and testing facilities have been used to evaluate, test and approve ARB bars for air bag vehicles. ARB keeps test results and approvals from Monash on file, but we do not publicly release these as they contain commercially sensitive details of our technology and research and development programs.
The essential design criteria ARB uses to ensure compatibility is to evaluate the standard vehicle’s frontal crush characteristics and where necessary to duplicate these characteristics as part of the design of the bar and its mounting system. This results in a design which when correctly installed, ensures that there is no change made to the way the vehicle behaves in a collision and hence there is no change made to the way the air bags deploy.
That is not to say that ARB has developed useless bars that do not offer the vehicle any protection. (It does appear to us that several bull bar manufacturers believe they have overcome the problem this way.) ARB air bag compatible bull bars do provide significant protection for the vehicle whilst also offering functional winching capability on winch mount versions.
ARB Nudge Bars are securely mounted and offer a stable platform for mounting auxiliary lights and antennas, as well as significant protection in car park and light impact situations.
Each ARB airbag compatible bar is designed specifically for the requirements of the individual vehicle model. Several different engineered methods of mounting the bar and providing the required collision performance characteristics are available to our designers. This results in products which are unique according to the vehicle model and that often feature quite different structural features to fulfill their air bag compatibility requirement.
The engineers analyse many factors at the initial design stage including the vehicle’s structural elements in relation to crash performance, the overall requirements for protection of the vehicle, consideration of pedestrian safety, the need for vehicle recovery points including winch mounting systems and the overall aesthetic appeal of the product. Naturally we are also looking for a cost effective, value for money solution as well.

This involves the development and testing of several prototypes before the design is approved. This is time consuming, but the patience of our customers is rewarded with a product that is the very best of its type.
LEGALITY
Some customers have expressed concern about the legality of fitting bull bars to SRS equipped vehicles and some vehicle manufacturers and dealers have also demonstrated concern.
The Victorian Government’s VICROADS department spells out the requirements for bull bar manufacturers to follow in order to satisfy that department as to the suitability of such bars. ARB follows these guidelines as a basis for our air bag compatible bull bar development program. No other Government Authority in Australia has any comparable regulations or guidelines, nor is ARB aware of any overseas authority who addresses this issue.
ARB’s engineering team has become a world authority on the design of bull bars, especially for critical applications such as on military and SRS equipped vehicles, and our input on the subject is sought by many government and private organisations around the globe.
AUSTRALIAN DESIGN RULES (ADRs)
Some confusion also exists regarding the ADRs for SRS air bag equipped vehicles. In particular, ADR rule number 69 is often confused as having some content regarding bull bars. This is not the case.
ADR69 is a vehicle occupant safety rule to which many vehicle categories are required to comply. Many vehicle manufacturers have used the fitment of air bags, amongst other engineering methods, to ensure their vehicles comply with this rule. All new vehicles must comply with all of the relevant ADRs at the time of their first registration. After a vehicle is registered, responsibility for the modification (and fitting of most aftermarket accessories is considered a modification) rests with the individual state road authorities (e.g. VICROADS).
As with all aftermarket accessories, the manufacturer of those accessories must be able to demonstrate that the accessories have been tested and evaluated to meet all of the relevant regulations.
ARB has a long history of providing vehicle modifications and accessories and we are experienced in meeting all of the various requirements in such areas. ARB manufactured turbochargers, ARB HiLux V6 conversions and lately our Old Man Emu 3500kg conversion for 70 series LandCruisers have all been tested and approved for full ADR second manufacturer compliance.
ARB has performed full scale crash testing of air bag compatible bull bars both with Monash University and with some vehicle manufacturers and this testing has fully verified our research and development on the subject.
For yours, and your potential customer’s, peace of mind, may I remind you, that in the case of our bull bars and nudge bars for SRS air bag equipped vehicles, every one is fitted with a sticker which reads in part as follows:-
“ This product and its mounting system has been designed, tested and manufactured by ARB to ensure its fitment to a vehicle fitted with SRS air bags does not affect the vehicle’s compliance to ADR69”
Each sticker has individual product part number and vehicle application information on it, and it is manufactured from high quality material with permanent adhesive.
WARRANTY
Consumers are well protected in this country from the aspect of product warranty. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, who administer the Trade Practices Legislation, have comprehensive rules about product warranty to ensure that consumers are protected from faulty products.
Products sold here must also be “Fit for purpose” and this is very important when it comes to manufacturers making claims of bull bars being “Air bag compatible”.
All ARB air bag compatible bull bars are not only covered by a full manufacturers warranty from the standpoint of protecting the consumer from goods with faulty materials or workmanship, but also with respect to the product’s suitability for its intended purpose.
We have heard of vehicle manufacturers and dealers telling their customers that if the customer fits an aftermarket bull bar some aspect of his/her vehicle warranty will be voided. It is neither fair nor legal for manufacturers or dealers to make such rules and consumers are well advised to challenge such statements.
Naturally, if an aftermarket product is proven to cause a failure of some other vehicle component, the aftermarket supplier may be held accountable, but the customer is protected by the consumer laws and therefore the vehicle manufacturer or dealer cannot simply wash their hands of such responsibility.
SUMMARY
ARB has gone to unprecedented lengths to ensure that our air bag compatible bull bars and nudge bars are the best available and legal accessories, and customers may have full confidence that these products are truly “fit for purpose”.
Further information, if required, can be obtained from the ARB office in your state or by contacting the writer.
Thanks and Kind Regards
Greg J Milton
National Sales and
Operations Manager