Aftermarket Truck Bumpers Offer More Protection than Stock Bumpers

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Aftermarket Truck Bumpers Offer More Protection than Stock Bumpers

Way back in 1973, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued its first passenger car and truck bumper standard. According to the official website, the new regulations “called for passenger cars, beginning with model year 1973, to withstand 5 mph front and 2 mph rear impacts against a perpendicular barrier without damage to certain safety-related components such as headlamps and fuel systems.”

Believe it or not, before this act, there were no rules put in place aimed at ensuring a vehicle’s bumper protection. But even with this standard (which is still in place today), how much protection is actually being offered? Is a 5 mph front and 2 mph rear impact protection that great? The answer is hell no!

OEM Bumpers Are Cheap and Untested

Really, the current regulations set-up by the NHTSA do very little to ensure that OEM bumpers offer any real protection. In fact, if you read the fine print of the NHTSA documents, this lax attitude is very apparent.

At one point, the NHTSA even says, “Congress enacted the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Saving Act which mandated that the agency issue a bumper standard that yields the maximum feasible reduction of costs to the public, taking into account the cost and benefits of implementation.”

The keywords here, of course, are: “a bumper standard that yields the maximum feasible reduction of costs to the public.” This means that car and truck manufacturers are only required to provide bumper protection that is affordable. As we all know, those companies will NEVER go the extra mile if it costs them a couple extra pennies. Just take a look at the GM ignition switch fiasco; did you know that it would have only cost them 6 cents per vehicle to fix that problem before hand?

Aftermarket Bumper Protection Is the Way to Go

Instead of relying on OEM bumpers and inefficient government regulations, it would be wiser for truck drivers to go out and handle their bumper performance on their own. With dozens of aftermarket brands out on the market today, it should be no problem to find the bumper that perfectly fits your ride, offering unparalleled protection and dynamic styling.

Today, it is estimated that an aftermarket truck bumper can offer up to ten times the protection and performance of the typical stock bumper. With those types of numbers, there’s no doubt that it’d be foolish to go another route.

By: Tim Snyder

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