Terrorist attack in Barcelona, 13 deaths

[Teeqoz]

RolStoppable said:

Ka-pi96 said:

Or perhaps sensors on the car that stop the engine and activate the brakes the moment the car comes in to contact with anything for a couple of minutes. Wouldn`t prevent them from hitting the first person, but at least they wouldn`t be able to do much beyond that, would also make it harder for them to escape.

The truck that was used in the Berlin attack was equipped with such a system, that's why the number of casualities was lower than planned. The attacker's plan was to drive straight through the masses at full speed, but the automatic brake system slowed him down and changed his direction. It also forced him to immediately run off by foot to escape the crime scene. The number of deaths and injured people was still high, so such technology can't be the solution. After all, it's physically impossible to slow down a vehicle to a stand still in time when it's deliberately driven off the street at high speed and right into a large group of people.

These systems only work when it comes to normal driving in city areas. Stopping a vehicle that drives at 30 kph/20 mph on a short distance is feasible.

You could always have physical blockages separating roads and pedestrian areas. But that would be a big task.