A survey of bullbar prevalence at pedestrian crash sites in Adelaide, South Australia

Abstract

This survey was designed to examine the proportion of vehicles fitted with bull bars in Adelaide, South Australia, at the sites where pedestrian crashes have occurred in the past. The sample was stratified to examine the prevalence in separate geographical regions of the metropolitan area of Adelaide. Survey results were combined using weights determined from the relative incidence of pedestrian crashes in the three survey strata. Overall, 8.6% of traffic was equipped with bull bars. Bull bar prevalence was much greater amongst heavy vehicles (28%), but heavy vehicles formed only a minor component of the traffic volume. The average site prevalence amongst light vehicle traffic was 7.5%. Site prevalence was lowest in the CBD (average 5.5%) and highest in the Outer Metropolitan Region (average 9.1%). Differences between the site prevalence in each region were statistically significant, and there was additional variation between sites within each region. 4WD vehicles are the most common vehicle type to have a bull bar fitted and 4WD vehicles with bull bars are twice as prevalent at the sites of crashes as the next most common type of bull bar equipped vehicle, work utilities.