Protecting pedestrian queues from Vehicle As a Weapon Attack

Vehicles (such as cars, vans and lorries) are widely available, easy to acquire and use. Vehicles may be purchased, rented, stolen or hijacked by terrorists. Consequently, driving a vehicle into crowds of people has been and remains an attack method used by terrorists.

During a VAW attack, the terrorist is unlikely to comply with the rules of the road. Terrorists may park illegally just before the attack then speed, ignore traffic signals, drive on the wrong side of the road, mount footways and enter pedestrianised zones.

However, as the intent is to harm as many people as possible during a VAW attack, they are less likely to drive in a manner that risks ending the attack prematurely: rendering the vehicle unusable or seriously injuring themselves. Consequently, the terrorist may tend to avoid obstacles, including relatively insubstantial ones.

In general, VAW attacks have been the first part of a layered attack. The attacks frequently begin on public roads with little or no warning and are often followed by a wider firearms or bladed weapon attack.

The end of a VAW attack may look similar to a road traffic incident: the vehicle losing control and crashing into barriers, buildings, street furniture or other vehicles. Individuals may approach the vehicle to help the occupants, inadvertently becoming targets for a follow-on bladed weapon or firearms attacks.

In order to minimise the risk to queues of people, organisations can take practical and achievable measures to either deter or disrupt a Vehicle As a Weapon Attack.