Method of Protection of Pedestrian Zones Against the Terrorist Attacks Made by Means of Cars Including Off-road Vehicles and Trucks

Abstract

The terrorist attack made on July 14, 2016 (Nice, France) revealed a problem of protection of pedestrian zones against the terrorist attacks made by means of cars. The purpose of this research is to solve the problem of protection of pedestrian zones against the terrorist attacks made by means of cars (including off-road vehicles and trucks), as well as motorbikes. We have systematized statistics on cases the terrorist attacks of pedestrian zones made with use of cars in the cities of Europe and suggest a resolution for this problem. The development of an anti-ram protective device capable of blocking vehicles driving into pedestrian zones could serve as a resolution. First, we substantiated the specific characteristics of pedestrian zones including infrastructural, technological, and legal features and on this basis formulated five requirements the developed device must meet. Taking into consideration the formulated requirements, we have developed a protective device capable of protecting pedestrian zones against the intrusion of passenger cars, off-road vehicles with high clearance, trucks, and motorbikes. We have also determined the optimal location of anti-ram protective devices near pedestrian zones. Based on the analysis of the minimal dimensions of existing cars, we have also calculated the minimum permissible distance between installed protective devices. The experiment conducted has shown that an anti-ram protective device can block a truck weighing 20 tons driving at 40 km/h in the case of entering into the pedestrian zones. Equipping pedestrian zones with such devices will resolve the problem of protection of pedestrian zones against the terrorist attacks made by means of cars (including off-road vehicles and trucks), as well as motorbikes.