Update on Vehicle Rammings: Attackers, Frequency, Lethality, and Mitigation Measures

The seven-month period beginning November 1, 2024 and ending May 31, 2025, saw a surge in the number of vehicle ramming attacks—27 attacks were recorded worldwide, including four in the United States. This Update on Vehicle Rammings examines the rise of vehicle ramming incidents, identifies common patterns and motivations, and explores strategies for mitigating risk. Findings show that since 2012, the vast majority of these attacks have occurred in the economically more advanced countries (including the U.S. and UK; these countries are referred to as Group 1 countries in the text). During this period, the United States has experienced the most attacks (83), followed by Israel and the Palestinian Territories (68), China (20), United Kingdom (14), and France (12), with these five countries accounting for nearly 75 percent of the total number of attacks in the world. Significantly, the volume of vehicle ramming attacks is gradually increasing over time in Group 1 countries—and specifically in the United States. The number of fatalities related to these attacks is also increasing in the U.S., and the research indicates the attacks occur in clusters. By examining recent trends and case studies, this work supports considerations for transportation planning, street design, and event security in adapting to the growing threat of vehicle rammings.

Note: The Mineta Transportation Institute’s National Transportation Security Center began its work tracking terrorist and violent criminal attacks against public surface transportation worldwide in the 1990s. This proprietary database, which catalogs incidents since January 1970, contained 8,440 attacks as of its final March 2025 update. This project continues the team’s previous work with the Departments of Transportation, Homeland Security, and public transportation system operators. The report was completed with support from MTI staff and the Allied Telesis National Transportation Security Center endowment.