In the last decade, there have been over 62 vehicle ramming attacks around the world.
Over 240 people have been killed in these attacks and thousands have been injured.
No city is safe from these attacks, and they have occurred all over the world from London to most recently New Orleans.
Sadly, these sorts of attacks are nothing new.
In fact, one of the first vehicle ramming attacks happened in 1973 in the Czech Republic.
Olga H. was born in Prague in 1951.
As a child, she had difficulty communicating with people in social settings and spent more than a year in a psychiatric hospital.
As an adult, she worked as a bookkeeper but couldn’t keep jobs.
Eventually, she found work as a truck driver.
Then, she cut off communication with her family and lived by herself in a cabin.
This is where she started planning her attack using a truck.
Olga suffered from severe mental health problems and believed that all people were trying to hurt her.
She said she had been beaten up for no reason and no one was willing to help her.
Olga made the decision to take her own life, but said she wanted to be remembered.
Her first idea was to derail a train; however, she realized that would be too difficult.
Then, Olga decided to carry out a mass shooting, but decided she would easily be shot back.
Finally, she decided to use a vehicle as a weapon.
In 1973, Olga rented a truck that she had driven before.
She went to Prague where she drove the truck onto the sidewalk, ramming into a group of about 25 people who were waiting for the tram.
At first, people tried to help Olga, because they thought she had a mechanical issue with the truck.
No one knew it was intentional until Olga admitted it was.
Eight people died after the attack and more than 12 people were injured but survived, and Olga survived as well.
Before the attack, she had sent letters to two newspapers explaining her reasons for the attack.
After she was arrested doctors found that she was completely aware of her actions and had no remorse.
She planned her vehicle ramming attack in great detail including the fact that the ground sloped down right before her target.
Olga was sentenced to death for the attack and was executed in 1975 by hanging.
Sadly, these days more terrorists are using vehicles to carry out their attacks.
That’s because vehicles are easy to obtain and it’s an inexpensive way for evil terrorists to do a lot of damage.
Considering this, here are a few ways you can stay safe from a vehicle ramming attack.
Distance from crowds:
Most criminals who are going to carry out a vehicle ramming attack want to hurt as many people as possible.
In other words, they will target areas where they can strike the most people at once.
And, while you can’t stay away from people altogether when you are at an event, you can limit the size of the crowd you choose to be around.
So, pay attention when you’re out and about.
If you notice that 30, 40, or more people are all crammed together in a small area consider taking a few steps back.
If you are viewing something you might want to simply move to another area where you can still see.
If you are at an event, you can’t walk around by yourself and not expect crowds.
The easiest thing to do is just remove yourself when the crowds start to get too big.
Natural barriers:
When you are gathering in public you should use natural barriers to your advantage.
For instance, try to find an area with trees, boulders, ditches, or creeks.
All of these things are natural barriers that may not completely stop a vehicle but will slow it down.
For instance, some people have boulders in their front yards.
While these are decorative and look nice, they also stop a vehicle from running into the house.
When you are at a public gathering pay attention to natural barriers.
Then look for ways, or develop a quick plan, to position yourself behind one of these barriers so you’re protected from the road and oncoming vehicles.
Man-made barriers:
Sadly, the city of New Orleans failed to put in place man-made barriers to protect visitors.
But there are man-made barriers such as steps, columns, or sculptures that can create safety and do a lot to slow down a vehicle.
For example, a car running into steps at a high rate of speed will slow down and lose momentum.
The same for a vehicle that runs into a statue, large bench, or even giant potted plants.
When you go out in public it’s hard to stay completely away from crowds.
So, if you find yourself in a crowd, pay attention to barriers and roadways.
Think like a criminal.
If someone was going to try to run over you, where would they most likely come from?
Then put a barrier between you and the roadway.
