Into the Crowd: The Evolution of Vehicular Attacks and Prevention Efforts

to the deflection caused by the windshield.⁵³ The difficulty of responding to an active vehicular ramming attack underlines the importance of preventing attacks.

Conclusion
Vehicular attacks committed by terrorists are not a new phenomenon. As described in this article, this modus operandi has been used by lone actors and groups for decades around the world. The recent cases in Germany and the United States are not a return of the vehicular attacks in the West but rather an evolution of the modus operandi, using new technical tools such as the use of electric cars and peer-to-peer apps.⁵⁴

The recent attacks do represent an uptick in the use of the tactic, however. Following the Nice and Berlin attacks in 2016, vehicular ramming terrorist attacks in North America and Europe reached a peak in 2017, before subsiding with the waning of the international terror threat posed by the Islamic State and its supporters. Of the 18 terrorist vehicular ramming attacks between 2014 and March 2025, 15 (83%) were carried out by jihadis and three (17%) by right-wing extremists. Most of the attacks involved cars but the two of the highest casualty attacks (Nice and Berlin) involved trucks, underlining that these forms of vehicular attacks pose the greatest threat. Most of the attacks produced fatalities and only one resulted in no injuries, demonstrating the high likelihood that vehicular ramming attacks will produce casualties once launched.

Since 2016, governments and security practitioners have focused significant attention on protecting against the vehicle-ramming threat to pedestrianized areas, bringing in new technologies. Protective measures such as using fixed or mobile bollards are key because once an attack is underway, it is very difficult to stop. But the facility of launching a vehicle attack and the very large number of soft targets means it is a tactic that is very difficult to defend against. Therefore, preventing attacks from being carried out in the first place through intelligence and law enforcement efforts is key but nonetheless challenging because an attack involving a vehicle can be planned and prepared with little risk of arousing suspicion.

When it comes to indicators and warnings of future attacks, the demonstration effect created by high-casualty attacks has, in the past, seemingly produced a surge in copycat attacks, which means that security agencies should be particularly vigilant in the months ahead given the recent uptick of high-profile attacks, including in New Orleans.     CTC

Alexandre Rodde is a Visiting Fellow at the