Push bumper effectiveness: Accidents, PIT, and disabled vehicles..

[TechnoWeenie]

What's the general consensus on push bumpers?

I see a lot of departments back east don't use them, or if they DO use them, will go with a Go-Rhino.

To contrast, out west, I see EVERY agency with them, and mostly Setina (which is based out of Olympia, WA).

Does your agency use them? What has been most effective? What brand/model do you use? Have they been effective at all? Are they used for their intended function? How do they hold up to PIT maneuvers? Do the wraparounds help, hurt, or do little to protect the pursuing vehicle? Do you see a damage reduction on the cruisers equipped with push bumpers when the cruiser is involved in an accident? An increase in damage? No difference?

Just doing a bit of market research...


........ Since I understand officers don't know what all the models are, most officers just use them and could care less who makes them, here are some pics for identification... I'm excluding, of course, the custom made NYPD and CHP push bumpers....


Setina PB-100 With wrap-arounds.









Setina PB-100 WITHOUT wraparounds







Setina PB-400 (looks the same as the Go-Rhino)





Go-Rhino WITH wraparounds





Go-Rhino WITHOUT wraparounds

[StudChris]

We have small rhino (go rhino, whatever) push bumpers that are only used for disabled vehicles. We had one officer get into a small fender bender, and there was more damage because of the push bumpers than there would have been if they werent there.

[Chit2001]

We have the Go-Rhino w/out wraparounds on our Chargers..... I'm pretty sure that I could break them off by just jumping up and standing on them. Not all that effective...... but they look cool!

[1042 Trooper]

We had the standard push bar and I used it all the time to clear the road at winter wrecks - otherwise total road blockage for additional 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on the weather.

[Seventy2002]

My agency no longer installs push bars. They were turning minor collisions into extended stays at the body shop. We can usually get a tow truck on-scene within 15 minutes so clearing the road isn't a big problem. If it becomes a problem, every fifth vehicle around here is a 4x4 with a tow chain and a driver eager to get moving.

[SgtScott31]

I believe THP is going to the Rhino with wraparounds strictly because of deer-related collisions. It seems that the push bumpers prevent a substantial amount of front-end damage when a deer is involved.

[PhilipCal]

Alabama DPS uses the Rhino. Primary use is DAV's.

[Narco]

go rhino w/o wraparounds. its good for pushing disabled cars out of the road and looks badd ****

[AZLawDawg]

We use Setina's here ( they look like the Go Rhino ). The newer versions work great, the older ones ( 03 model year, not even sure those were Setina's back then ), worked horribly, so much so, that if you drove/drive an '03 CVPI, you are strongly advised against pushing anything.

[Freddie]

We're prohibited by policy from using our cars to push anything, but my agency (and most of the agencies around here) still use Rhino wraparounds. We call them "deer bars" because we pretty much just use them to minimize deer damage.

If your doing the PIT correctly, using a pushbar or no pushbar really doesn't matter. I used a car for PIT training that had over 700 PITs done with it and it had VERY minor damage from all of those PITs. Pretty much just a few scratches and a very small dent from the Rhino headlight wrap getting nudged slightly into the fender.

[KAA951]

Has anyone else had an issue with damage caused by your push bumpers being labeled a "motor vehicle accident" under your state law?

We have pretty much pulled push bumpers off the road because of a ruling that said if you accidently damage the vehicle you are pushing you have to file a motor vehicle accident report- which then shows up on the officer's personal driving record!

I understand that the damage was "accidental" but on the other hand it is the result of intentional contact between the vehicles!

[Guams]

My agency doesn't have any push bumpers. The one agency in the county that I know has them is the Sheriff's Department... and they've got these (for lack of a better word) things that look like someone strapped steel mesh to the front bumper. Apparently they have problems with deer and deputies having get-togethers on the roadway, so these things help minimize the damage.

[AZLawDawg]

Has anyone else had an issue with damage caused by your push bumpers being labeled a "motor vehicle accident" under your state law?

Yep, no matter how small the damage, if the push bumper needs a minor repair after pushing someone off the road, guess what? It's an Officer Involved Collision.... great....

[luckydog]

a couple of our cars have the push bumper strait off the front, not the wrap around. when doing pit, if you hit the other vehicle with that thing you didnt do it properly. it usually only results in a little scuffing of the paint and side turn signal anyway.

[chrisw64]

We have them but don't use them because of liability. What a waste.