I have been hearing allot of talk from family and friends about the state of Texas making FRONT END REPLACEMENT bumpers illegal. I guess thier reasoning is that they cause massive destruction to small vehicles upon impact, and have killed a few people.

I have one on my truck, and as far as I am concerened, I will have one on every truck I own..(law permitting) The reason I got mine is that I drive on back roads with allot of deer crossing. I have hit a few deer, and my bumper has saved my truck. I am cogniscent of its lethal features, therefore I try my best to not put myself in situations where it could be deadly. My wife drives a little car, and I would hate to see something happen to her because of some pea-brain in a big truck with a big bumper trying to prove a point that he is big and bad and can go wherever he wants because he has a big truck(people like this are out there, so beware).



so has anyone else heard of this? maybe its nationwide, or maybe not. thats why im asking.

Phillip

 

Hey Phillip, I saw a report on the local CBS station here (KHOU), regarding the exact issue you are quoting. I have a Ranch Hand deer snubber on mine for the same reason as you. All of the local gendarmes around the Houston area have the front of their Crown Vic's pre-loaded with a similar style push bar.... Guess all of the local police will have to un-mod their rides too huh????

Gary

 

I haven't heard of anything like that in Oklahoma,
There is a law that says how high the bumper (front & rear) can be off the ground.
I don't think it's enforced much though, I see trucks all the time that are jacked up & the bumpers wouldn't hit anything till it came in contact with the windshield!!

I understand everyone having a "thing" & a jacked up truck you need a step ladder to get in to isn't one of mine.
I don't mean to offend anyone but 95% of these mile high 4X4's never see a dirt road let alone any real off roading!!
As a Fire Fighter I have seen the damage these do in a wreck many times (& it's not pretty!), bumper highth should be a bigger worry than a big bumper at a reasonable highth. JMO

 

I saw that same report on CBS.
Something about SUV's soon being required to be closer to the ground to keep side impact collisions with smaller cars being so deadly.

What's the point of having an off road vehicle if you can't take it offroad because of ground clearance issues.
I know 95% of SUV's never see anything but asphalt and concrete, so as long as they only apply the new rules to them and leave us truck owners alone I'll be happy.

My "mile high" truck sees offroad conditions whenever possible, (no offense taken),
sometimes even severe offroading.
I got my replacement mainly to provide a mounting point for a winch, but I've also had some close calls with deer, cows and big dogs as well, haven't tested the bumper thouroughly yet. (knock on wood)

My bumper will take the roof off of the opposing small vehicle if, perish the thought, I am ever involved in a T-bone collision, but it will also prevent very expensive radatior, intercooler, transmission cooler, fan and headlight damage if I am ever unlucky enough to take a deer out of season.

I think the solution is to make small cars taller, rather than SUV's and trucks shorter.
Or, better yet, outlaw anything smaller than a Crown Vic.

phox

 

Saw the report myself, this is probally going to be a BIG topic, it's an election year. I'm not shure how the demographics will work out, but I live in a large metropolitan and I can see this coming up. Seems right now they are pretty hot on the SUV's and not concentrating on the trucks. I have herd some talk about lifted vehicles though? I don't think it matters if I run into a car with my Buckstop or without it. The car (2500-3500lb) is going to loose eighter way, I weigh 8500lbs. The only difference may be that I and my family may survive, where we might not have without it. The people in the car are F--ked eighter way, and I had nothing to do with that, it's just pure physics. The same holds true if I pull out in front of a semi, I realize I most likely would not survive. Hence, I don't pull out in front of semi's.

 

You are absolutely right! Just another example of "Big Brother" doing his best to take care of me, whether I want it or not! Somebody needs to ban those evil "assault trains" too! They kill people all the time!-Steve

 

message edited

 

edited due to previous edit.

I shall refrain from further comment on the actions of others here. Whether they quote me, or not.

 

quote "I saw that same report on CBS.
Something about SUV's soon being required to be closer to the ground to keep side impact collisions with smaller cars being so deadly.

What's the point of having an off road vehicle if you can't take it offroad because of ground clearance issues.
I know 95% of SUV's never see anything but asphalt and concrete, so as long as they only apply the new rules to them and leave us truck owners alone I'll be happy."

 

Y-Knot I couldn't agree more (Florence, Y'all...is that water tower still painted with that saying?). Although I haven't seen a report on this topic, I do drive a truck with a bumper that will do significant damage to another vehicle if they come into contact with it. I do my best to stay away from the idiots, but odds are that if enough of them aim for me, eventually one will hit me.

With that said, I can't believe people aren't crying to the lawmakers to get the auto industry to beef up the smaller cars. I mean, sheez, these little tin boxes running around are cheap to build and buy, but offer little or no protection in some instances. For example, I owned a '92 Ford Escort (I know, I know, but it really was a troublefree little car until it was wrecked) that went through a nasty accident. That car folded up and buckled in as if it were made out of aluminum foil. That was from being hit by a Jetta, not a 7-8K lb truck.

If drivers had more education and were more aware of their surroundings we wouldn't need to worry about any of this as much. Yeah, like that's going to happen. Anyway, that's my take on it.

Duane

 

From what I see, it is another problem of our litigation happy society. If I don't want to take responsibility for my own actions I can sue somebody for my stupidity. It is like the woman that sued McD's for spilling coffee in her lap. People seem to think "I don't want to buy a safer vehicle so therefore You must make yours so it won't hurt me as much. I don't care about your safety, you don't matter to me, but YOU need to take care of my safety". I agree with Y-Not, it is just a matter of physics. The larger mass will do more dammage than a smaller mass. People NEED to start taking responsibility for their OWN ACTIONS. PERIOD. O.K I will put the soapbox away now............................
Tom

 

Yes they still have the water tower that says "FLORENCE Y'ALL", seems everyone liked it so much they never changed.
I find the front bumper topic funny, like mentioned before everyone wants to blame someone else for their problems. I close my eyes and picture semis in 5 years running around with huge energy absorbing bumpers like on the highways. Two rows of three water filled barrels hanging out in front of the truck. Strobe lights on the corners flashing, and a big sign reading "CAUTION, CONTACT WITH THIS TRUCK MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR VEHICLE".

I am sure that if someone (like myself) was to get into an accident and injure someone while having used a non-standard front bumper, there would be a law suit coming. Even if the other vehicle was totally to blame, there would be a lawyer somewhere willing to take the case. It has gotten to the point where any action taken is cause for litigation. Where does it end? Where is the line that separates responsible ownership
from criminal neglect? Does one cross the line by installing side nerf bars? How about a class IV or V rear hitch? If someone T-boned you in the side, would the addition of a gooseneck or fifth wheel hitch be grounds for a law suit? How about the extra fuel tank mounted in the bed? or the tool box? Did the pillar mount gauges obstruct the view? Did the 2" leveling kit make the truck more deadly? How about that custom grill insert or front mounted hitch?
I think anyone that is on the road is a potential law suit waiting to be filed. So I will worry about my family and my survival first and the ramifications later.

 

Well I can attest to the strength of the 'stock' front bumper on the 3500's.. Last summer I had the misforune of litterally 'driving thru' a Caprice. The fool ran a red light...and I ripped his car in half. I'm just glad i got a glimpse of him and was at least able to down shift and stand on the brakes, still T-boned him at about 40, the big factor was no injuries at all! Mostly costmetic damage to the truck (aside from the chunk of chevy that stabbed my rad and intercooler). So how would a big mongo bumper have changed the outcome in this situation.....not a bit, IMO weight has more to do with it.

None the less living way out in the sticks myself I'm still searching for the perfect bumper to replace the factory with, so far no deer hit, but my luck has got to be running quite thin.

 

Does anybody here listen to Rush Limbaugh and ever heard the song about the Yugo if you haven't, you should. As a VERY WIZE person told me today, why not just put a reciever on the front and back, install the de-cap guards and drive to town, when you get home, take-em off and go mud riding, but I need to add something to the de-cap bars, since they would be so low to the ground and our trucks have all this extra power, why shouldn't we add a sweeper brush to the front with a hopper that would sweep up all this "trash" from the streets thats poluting our laws. My oldest daughter hit a deer in her Honda Acorn, tore the complete front end off, killed the motor and the car never drove right after being "fixed". I just thank the Good Lord that his rack only punched thru the passenger side of the windshield. She now drives a SUV, and if she changes, I'll spank her butt. I think it would be best to have 8" pipe filled with concrete around our trucks to protect US from THEM, most people see a big nice truck and think big nice insurance settlement. $.02

 

You all have some great point's to this subject, some I agree on and some I don't (imagine that ). Personally I think they should outlaw little rice rockets, if you wish to own a coffen "before" you die then go to your local mortuary and buy one! In my line of work I have to transport heavy equipment some times and I tell you what, weather you drive a dodge truck or a 50,000 lbs grader, those little guys just don't get "murphies law of lbs+speed of travel= I CAN'T STOP THAT FAST! . I get cut off by these little cars every time I go out. IMO, I would run whatever bumper I have on the rig and tell em' to stuff thier law! You think deer make a splat on your hood? Try a #1800 MOOSE! It is tragic, accedents, but they happen every day all over the world. It's just the way it is, period! You can not "remove" all the big bumpers in the world and say, there, no more bad wrecks. Give me a break . I see many people up here with home made bumpers ( 12" well casing ) and if I had my way I would have a aftermarket bumper too.

If you hit some one (t-bone) at 70mph with a stock bumper, do you really think it's gonna be any better than hitting some one with a modified bumper at the same speed? I think not, It's unfortionate that it happens, but it does. Keep a heads up and hope it never happens to you.

OK, Dog is stepping down from his soapbox now, sorry and thank for listening.