Barcelona terrorist attack: Can vehicle ramming be prevented?

The rise in terrorist attacks involving cars or trucks has forced countries to consider new ways to protect public spaces.

Yesterday's twin attack in Spain is the latest in a series of terrorist incidents involving vehicles driven into crowds. Similar attacks have taken place in London, Stockholm, Nice and Berlin.

The US, Israel and the UK are leading the way when it comes to protecting the public from this threat, says the BBC.

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"[The] measures range from in-your-face massive barriers to incredibly subtle changes in the street scene that you and I would barely notice," home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani reports.

In the US, crash-resistant bollards are now outside all military and government buildings, as well as other high-risk locations. Similar measures are in place in the UK and Israel.

Other forms of protection against vehicle attacks are known as "anti-ramming landscape features" that can be integrated seamlessly into the structure or design of a building.

Arsenal's Emirates Stadium has been held up as a model for this form of protection, says The Guardian.

Large concrete letters spelling out the football club's name act as a barrier to vehicles, as do concrete benches and giant ornate cannons positioned outside the stadium's entrance.

In Sweden, a more high-tech approach is being trialled in response to the attack in Stockholm earlier this year.

Known as "geo-fencing", the approach uses satellites to create electronic boundaries around specific sites and can also be used to limit the speed of a vehicle.

The Times reported last month that authorities in the UK could adopt the measure.

But even with a range of protections in place, deadly attacks on soft targets will still occur, says Newsweek. "Security officials say there is ultimately very little authorities can do to eradicate the problem," the magazine reports.