All of us have seen car bumpers for sure. But did you ever think of the reason for its existence? Is it only an exterior part or there are some other specific reasons behind this structure? Well, that can be a possible reason, but there must be some other reasons too.
The main goal or purpose of a car bumper is to protect your car from mild or minor impacts. To know the exact purpose, you need to analyze car bumpers thoroughly.
Let’s dig deeper and extract brief purposes and other important facts about bumpers.
Table of Contents
What is a Jeep/Car Bumper?
The bumper is a protective shield. It can absorb shock and prevent a car from damage. You can see the bumper on either side of an automobile. In some cars, bumpers are seen on the left and right sides also.
The front bumpers are situated at the very front and under the front grille. There are also bumper ends for each bumper to seal the assembly from dirt.
Materials Used to Make Bumpers
When talking about the material of a bumper, the first thing that comes to our mind is metal or steel. That’s because, in general, metals can ensure more protection.
Yes, metal or steel is used to make bumper. But besides that fiberglass composite, aluminum, and plastic are also used to make bumpers.
Egg crate, which is also known as polypropylene foam is engineered in some bumpers. This plastic comb or egg crate helps to hold on or reflect the energy that creates from crashes. This stays in the middle of the bumper and the bar.
You will see plastic or synthetic protection over some bumpers these days. They are called “bumper covers”.
Types of Bumpers
There are different types of bumpers available for cars and jeeps. The bumper type varies according to the driving type and sometimes according to the necessity.
For example, you have a toe car. At that time the towing rope will be tied to the bumper. If you don’t have a strong bumper, you can’t start pulling.
Considering all the facts, we can differentiate bumpers into these 5 types;
Importance of Using Car/Jeep Bumpers
There is some significant importance of a bumper. I have tried to categorize them. Let’s have a look at them:
Protection from minor collisions
Accidents can happen anytime and anywhere. You never know from where and how the danger will come. A bumper cannot protect you and your car from a major and dangerous accident. But it can protect your car’s front and back from minor incidents.
For example, your car is waiting at the signals and someone mistimes while breaking and gives your car a slight push from behind. If you don’t have a back bumper, the push might cost you some bucks for repairing.
The same thing can happen to your front if you mistime or someone all of a sudden takes back gear.
Protection while parking
No doubt most of the bumps happen while you are parking or someone else is parking. I have seen most of the minor pushes in the parking lot.
When the parking lot is narrow and doesn’t have wide spaces, things like minor bumps can happen. I am sure no one loves to have dents on their cars.
Poles, fences, and other objects can also collide with the car. Bumper can avoid these little hits.
If you hit a still car, the bumper will ensure the damage is not big enough. A bumper can hold on to a 5 MPH impact without being broken.
Side bumpers can protect from side scratches
You will see some cars with side bumpers on both the left and right. They are usually made from fiberglass or plastic.
These side bumpers can be helpful to keep your car safe from scratches on narrow roads. If any object or any other car comes too close, it will collide with the bumper first not with the body.
Body scratches are hectic and may cost a good amount of money to recover.
Legal issue
In some places in the USA, you cannot take your car out on the road if there’s no bumper on it. Legal may vary from state to state.
In the USA, about seven states’ traffic law believes that driving a car without a bumper is illegal. Police can penalize you with fines and can give you demerit points as well. There are about 22 states who believe it is unsafe to drive a car without a bumper. And they can fine you for reckless driving.
Though there is no specific law for bumpers in those 22 states they can still fine you. Because, bumpers are safe and without that, it might get a little risky.
Every country and state has different laws and views about car bumpers. It’s better to know what the local law says.
Bumper increase the dynamics view
A well-shaped and matching bumper always increases the dynamics and looks of a car. It becomes more attractive and classy.
Installing sensors and fog lights
Parktronic sensors and fog lights are installed on most vehicles these days. These are mounted on the bumper.
Parktronic sensors help you park your car safely. On the other hand, fog light helps you drive safely in heavy rain, fog, and snowfall. A bumper is a perfect place to install these features on a car.
Finally, from the above discussion, I think now the purpose of a bumper is quite clear. From safe driving to parking, towing, looks, and traffic rules; you can never neglect the importance of a bumper.
