Doesn't mention anything about pre 2007 here

Quote:

Concept Mouldings Seeks Clarity on Details of Legal Position in Respect of Recent Bull Bar Law


WOLVERHAMPTON, England, October 15 /PRNewswire/ --

- Re: The "Bull Bars" and "Frontal Protection Systems" (FPS) Directive 2005/66/EC

The UK Government and the Department for Transport indicated the view as early as the mid 1990's that the sale of unsafe metal Bull Bars should be banned. Steps have now been taken by the Government and the EC to make the sale of unsafe metal bull bars unlawful by introducing regulations to implement the EC directive 2005/66/EC which came in to force on the 25th May 2007 but confusion remains in the UK market. So now Concept Mouldings is offering to share its legal advice with interested parties to ensure that there is absolute clarity on this potentially life saving legislation.

These regulations together with the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR 2005) make it unlawful to sell unsafe metal bull bars after 25 May 2007. The Government has confirmed that selling unsafe metal bull bars in breach of this legislation could result in a fine limited to GBP20,000 and up to 12 months imprisonment.

It is clear from marketing information in the public domain that sections of the industry are not well informed on this issue. In order that this is addressed, Concept Mouldings Limited is in the process of obtaining independent legal clarification from a barrister (a QC) regarding the adoption and due process into UK law of the European Directive dealing with this issue. The advice will confirm when it became unlawful to sell unsafe metal bull bars, what the sanction is for this unlawful conduct and who is responsible for the enforcement of this legislation.

Concept Mouldings considers that the provisions within the directive are clear in that:

- The legislation now applies to both bull bars / FPS's supplied via vehicle manufacturers already attached to the vehicle and sold on the aftermarket as a separate technical unit.

- The legislation makes it unlawful to sell unsafe metal bull bars after 25th May 2007

- The sanction for selling unsafe metal bull bars is a fine limited to GBP20,000 and up to 12 months in prison

- Under the GPSR 2005 it is clearly the responsibility of the retailer, dealer and/or distributor to asses the risk of the products which they offer for sale and in this particular case after 25th May 2007 to certify via EU approval certificates the products acceptance within the market.

It is also important to note that all member states within the EU have similar regulatory tools at their disposal to enforce compliance of safe products in order to protect their citizens from unsafe and/or harmful products being supplied within their country.

It is clear that the UK Government's tolerance of unsafe metal bull bars has come to an end and we believe distributors should discontinue the sale of unsafe metal bull bars immediately.

If used effectively, this legislation could, at its most extreme result in an enforcement process resulting in a total product recall (and the excessive costs associated therewith).

The http://www.frontalprotectionsystems.eu website provides information on the issue of Frontal Protection Systems throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Concept Mouldings has sought to address this issue from an objective perspective without bias resulting from the commercial interests of both the Endura and Concept Mouldings brands.

Concept Mouldings Limited is prepared to share with any UK manufacturer, dealer, distributor or interested party the QC's opinion which will be independent and objective clarifying this issue.

To receive free copies of the independent legal clarification please contact the Concept Mouldings product manager (details below).

During the period of consultation with our legal adviser, we cannot stress enough the importance of this legislation, and all UK dealers, distributors and interested parties should exercise extreme caution in supplying non compliant products such as unsafe metal bull bars and nudge bars without obtaining proper legal advice.

It is important to highlight the fact that the Endura FPS complies with all legislation for pedestrian protection, and meets and exceeds the minimum prescribed standards as laid down within the 2005/66/EC Pedestrian Protection Directive. More importantly, the Endura FPS has been shown in scientific tests (undertaken by MIRA) to substantially reduce the prospects of serious injury thus reducing human tragedy on the UK roads in the forthcoming years, whilst still reducing vehicle to vehicle accident costs.