Bull Bars, Those Deadly SUV Assessories
A "deadly assesory" might well describe a fashion statement, something really cool, worn on black. But in this case I'm writing about something much more grim, that has little reason to exist outside of our relentlessly macho self-image as drivers.
Bushwhacker is one name they go by and I guess there are others---those Rhino-like chromium bulldozer bumpers that are so often attached to the front of whatever SUV claims to be the big dog in the park.
Absurd. Absurd, but dangerous.
They're killers, maimers and outrageously unnecessary for anything other than image. They originated in Australia, where roads are empty of all but nocturnal kangaroos and the devices keep a truck on the road and an errant kanga in the ditch. Maybe some purpose in that.
To digress a moment (but not too far), a number of years ago the automobile industry introduced the 30-mile-per-hour bumper. Good idea. These inventions are shock absorbing and meant to turn minor accidents into less life (and neck) threatening eve…