A bullbar (also roo bar or nuge bar in Australia) is a device fitted to the front of a vehicle to protect it and its passengers from damage in a collision with an animal. They vary considerably in size and form, and are usually made of welded steel or aluminium tubing, and, more recently, moulded polycarbonate and polyethylene materials. Due to the number of deaths and injuries caused by cars with rigid metal bullbars (in 2000 some 2,000 deaths/year and 18,000 serious accidents/year in Europe ), the sale of metal bullbars was banned by a European Union Directive.