DEFLECTABLE VEHICLE BUMPER

In a deflectable vehicle bumper comprising a central frame member attachable to the front of a vehicle, a pair of laterally extending wing members for protruding beyond the side of the vehicle, each said wing member is substantially coplanar with said the central frame member and attached thereto. Each wing member comprises a rigid plate having an inner end portion overlapping and detachably secured to the central frame member, and each plate has a vertical line of weakness constituting a shear line outside the inner end portion, the shear line ensuring that the plate shears when a predetermined shear force is applied thereto. A strip of resilient material is sandwiched between the overlapping plate and central frame member, the strip of resilient material being attached to the plate on each side of the shear line. The wing members are retained substantially in a laterally extended position during minor impacts, and the resilient sheet restores the wing members to the laterally extended position after shearing of the plate has occurred.