The National Safety Council (NSC) today said drivers should take bull bars off the front of their four-wheel-drive vehicles to prevent pedestrian deaths.
The National Safety Council (NSC) said the bars, which are often seen on vehicles in city streets, were capable of causing serious harm.
"They're over the top, they're unnecessary and from a safety point of view, they're an additional risk to pedestrians and cyclists," said acting chief executive Alan Richardson.
Alan Richardson, National Safety Council
A 1998 study by Australia's University of Adelaide found that the damage to a child's head when struck by a vehicle equipped with a steel bull bar was ten to 15 times worse than damage inflicted by a vehicle without one.
Mr Richardson said that even though bull bars were not illegal, drivers should be sensible and take them off voluntarily.
"What do we need them for? The roads are dangerous enough. They don't add anything to the vehicle other than make them look more aggressive."
Bull bars were originally designed to protect drivers from collisions with large animals. But Mr Richardson said there was no justification for them in a safe urban environment.
"Let's face it, most of these people are like the Sloane Rangers in Chelsea. What do you need bull bars for, in a vehicle that weighs two tons and considering the advantage you have of being able to see other vehicles?"
The European Parliament had planned a total ban on bull bars but after lobbying from car manufacturers, it voted last month in favour of phasing out the most dangerous rigid versions. The voluntary agreement is set to come into effect by January 2007.
The Society of the Irish Motor Industry said it was up to individuals themselves to decide if they wanted to keep or remove bull bars.
"I think you have to distinguish between vehicles on farms and construction sites, and vehicles which are not being used off road to the same extent," said chief executive Cyril McHugh.
But he said he agreed with the NSC that they were unnecessary in most urban environments He added that many drivers were buying "soft" bull bars for decorative purposes which did not have the same impact on pedestrians in an accident.