The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) is seeking government support for the sector’s work with the insurance industry. With many recent lone-agent terrorist attacks involving the use of rental vehicles as weapons, the combined effort aims to provide a fair and workable way of pooling risk.
In its Vehicles as weapons: a threat and policy assessment for the UK rental sector report, BVRLA has also recommended having an industry-led compulsory national accreditation scheme to require all vehicle rental businesses to meet minimum standards in terms of counter-terrorism security practices and procedures. Among the proposed measures is increasing the level of counter-terrorism awareness training and guidance available to staff.
The association said there are around 15.5 million rental transactions every year in the UK, and that vehicles-as-weapons attacks pose a significant threat to the sector’s ability to provide customers with an affordable and convenient service.
“Since 2017, the BVRLA and its members have continued to work closely, and more frequently with counter-terrorism police and policymakers,” noted BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney. “We are committed to working with different parts of government and law enforcement to debate and develop strategies to help detect and mitigate the risk from terrorism.
“Through effective collaboration, we will develop more effective ways of sharing information, embrace new security technology and will share best practice with other countries and industry sectors.”
The BVRLA-commissioned report was produced in association with the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation. It noted that terrorist attacks using rental vehicles killed 14 innocent people in the UK in 2017.
