BUSH motorists in limbo over heavy-duty bullbars are closer to answers after the NSW Centre for Road Safety announced this week it completed crash-testing.
A police crackdown last year on non-regulation bullbars frustrated rural drivers, some common designs were technically in breach of the 2003 laws.
Roads Minister Duncan Gay stepped in to announce a two-year amnesty on heavy-duty oversized bullbars until August 2016 while testing was carried out - the results of which are expected by January.
Critics say oversized bars can impede drivers' vision and are potentially far more lethal to pedestrians.
They could also delay the deployment of airbags and obstruct vehicle "crumple zones".
Drivers say the bars protect both themselves and their vehicles, especially at night when wildlife is hard to see and more likely to stray onto the road.
Half of all respondents to a survey commissioned by Queensland-based TUFF Bullbars believed they had been, or would be, saved from injury or death because they had a bulbar.
TUFF Bullbars general manager Mark Casey said the survey was commissioned in response to a Facebook poll during the bullbar crackdown.
"We thought we might get a handful of responses but the number and the detail provided surprised us, so we engaged an external party to analyse the data," Mr Casey said.
"At the time we gathered the information there was a lot of controversy about bullbars, and country style bullbars in particular - we were concerned the needs of rural drivers were being lost in the debate.
"I think it noteworthy that for people driving on country roads, bullbars are a necessity rather than an adornment - 12 per cent of respondents said their bullbars had saved their lives on numerous occasions."
Mr Gay said advisors and transport officials met with bullbar manufacturers to understand standards.
He said testing at the NSW Crash Lab had focused on sedans and 4WDs fitted with two types of bullbars.
"These tests were thorough - and I am satisfied with the work which has been carried out so far," Mr Gay said.
"Road users who have bullbars should not be concerned. We are doing everything we can to protect vehicles and their occupants without compromising the safety of other road users.
