In the latest reminder of how vulnerable public gatherings remain to vehicle-ramming incidents, a minivan tore through a jubilant crowd in Liverpool on May 26, injuring more than 45 people—including children—during the city’s Premier League victory parade. The attacker, a 53-year-old white British man, was arrested, but authorities have said there is no indication of terrorism, at least for now. Yet the incident adds to a growing list of ramming attacks that have plagued cities across the globe—from Vancouver to Munich, Magdeburg to New Orleans and Zhuhai. In just the past six months, such attacks have killed 71 people, according to the National Transportation Security Center. So why are these attacks becoming more frequent? And why are they so difficult to stop?
1. Easy to Execute, Hard to Predict
Unlike bombings or coordinated shootings, car-ramming attacks require no sophisticated weapons, no advanced training, and often no formal planning. As Rand Corporation notes, “this tactic requires little or no training… and carries a relatively low risk of early detection.” A vehicle is an everyday object. It doesn’t raise suspicion until it’s already in motion—and by then, it’s too late.
2. Not Just Terrorism—A Complex Web of Motives
While some ramming incidents are classified as terrorism—such as the 2016 Nice Bastille Day attack or the 2025 New Year’s Day massacre in New Orleans—others are driven by mental health issues or fringe ideologies. There’s also a growing trend of “lone actor” violence with diverse motivations. Right-wing extremism and misogynist ideologies have been linked to attacks like the Charlottesville protest ramming in 2017 and the Toronto “incel” van attack in 2018. This diversity in perpetrators complicates any effort to define a single “profile” of the attacker.
3. The Contagion Effect
A 2018 academic study described vehicle-ramming as an “imitative” act. Once it enters public consciousness—through news, social media, and pop culture—it can be subconsciously added to an individual’s menu of options for expressing rage or dissent. “It becomes part of the repertoire,” sociologist Vincent Miller noted. “The profile of the perpetrator is very hard to define. The main thing they have in common is the act.”
4. Rental Gaps and Urban Design Flaws
Some attackers use rented or borrowed vehicles, exploiting lax security checks or poor data sharing between rental agencies and authorities. The 2021 Rand report noted a lack of industry-wide procedures, such as background checks or geofencing, that could restrict vehicle movement into pedestrian zones. Similarly, urban planning in many cities hasn’t caught up with new threats. Wide, open boulevards without bollards or barriers offer a clear path for destruction.
5. What Can Be Done?
For the public:
- Run away from the vehicle’s path immediately.
- If you fall, curl up to protect yourself and rise as soon as possible.
- Seek cover behind fixed objects like trees, walls, or lamp posts.
- Call emergency services and follow first responders’ instructions.
For organisers:
- Use bollards, planters, and barricades to keep vehicles away.
- Design controlled perimeters and restrict vehicle entry to crowds.
- Position heavy vehicles as mobile barriers at strategic points.
- Use remote parking and shuttle systems to limit unauthorised vehicle access.
Bottom Line
Car-ramming attacks exploit the ordinary to create extraordinary chaos. They bypass traditional counter-terror frameworks and flourish in a media-saturated world that inadvertently amplifies them. From a security standpoint, they represent one of the hardest threats to anticipate—and one of the most harrowing to endure. As Liverpool’s trauma joins a growing global list, the urgency to rethink urban security has never been clearer.
