Car show risk assessment: a practical guide

At a car show the exhibits are two-tonne machines that arrive and leave through a crowd. Almost every serious incident at vehicle events comes from the same source — a vehicle moving while the public are around it — so that's where the assessment should spend its effort.

The one risk that matters most

Vehicle–pedestrian interaction is the defining hazard of a car show, and it concentrates at three moments: arrival, when exhibitors drive in, often over several hours and increasingly among early visitors; any arena or parade activity during the day; and departure, when hundreds of vehicles want to leave at once, in the same twenty minutes, while visitors are walking to the car park.

Design the day so those three moments are separated from the public as far as possible: a hard cut-off time after which no exhibitor drives in, marshalled and escorted movement if anything must move mid-show, and a staged departure with marshals holding pedestrians. Write those decisions into the assessment with real times and real named roles. The general method is in our risk assessment guide.

Layout, ground and display

• Pitch layout. Wide enough aisles for a family with a pushchair to pass a vehicle with its doors open and a group standing around it. Cramped layouts are where reversing incidents happen.
• Orientation. Nose-in or nose-out consistently, so departure doesn't involve manoeuvring in a crowd.
• Ground conditions. Grass shows are weather-dependent — soft ground means spinning wheels, tow vehicles and ruts. Have a trigger for switching to a hard-standing plan or cancelling.
• Running engines and displays. Exhaust fumes in a marquee, hot exhausts at child height, bonnets propped up. Ask exhibitors not to run engines except at agreed times, and think about where a running vehicle's exhaust points.
• Vehicles as barriers. Never use parked exhibits as your crowd barrier or your emergency access boundary — they leave.

Fuel, fluids and fire

Classic and modified vehicles leak, and older fuel systems are less forgiving than modern ones. Practical controls: no refuelling on site, drip trays or absorbent granules available for the inevitable leaks, and appropriate fire extinguishers distributed across the display area with someone who knows how to use them. A vehicle fire in a tightly packed display is the scenario that turns a bad day into a serious one — so keep an access lane wide enough for a fire appliance and enforce it.

Electric and hybrid vehicles are increasingly present and have different failure modes. If you're displaying EVs, know that a lithium battery fire behaves very differently — the fire service's advice is worth reading, and it's a sensible thing to raise with them in advance rather than discover on the day.

Arena runs, marshals and the paperwork

If vehicles move in front of spectators — a parade ring, a cavalcade, a dynamic display — you need documented separation distances between the vehicle path and the crowd line, a solid barrier, marshals positioned to see and stop, and a briefed driver who understands the speed limit and the route. Motorsport UK's guidance is the reference point for anything approaching a competitive or speed element, and if there is any timed or competitive element you are likely into motorsport permit territory entirely.

Beyond the assessment: public liability insurance that specifically covers vehicle displays, landowner permission, and — if the show is on council land or large — an event management plan and probably a Safety Advisory Group conversation. Ask exhibitor clubs for their own insurance and, where relevant, their own assessments.

Common questions

Do exhibitors need their own insurance?

Their vehicles need road insurance to get to you, but that isn't the same as public liability cover for displaying at an event. Your event's public liability policy will normally cover the show as a whole; check with your insurer that it extends to exhibitor vehicles and any display activity. Car clubs booking as a group often carry their own cover — ask for it as a condition of booking and keep the certificates.

Can we let visitors sit in the cars?

That's the owner's decision, and many are happy to allow it — it's part of the appeal. From your side, make sure it's clearly the owner's call and their supervision, that keys aren't left in the ignition, and that children aren't left unattended in vehicles. Put a line in the exhibitor briefing so everyone knows the position rather than working it out individually.

What separation distance do we need for a parade?

It depends on speed, vehicle type and barrier, and there is no single number that covers every case. For low-speed parade movement with a solid barrier and marshals, distances are modest; anything faster, heavier or less controlled needs much more, and you should be working from Motorsport UK guidance or specialist advice. If you find yourself guessing, that's the signal to either get advice or simplify the activity until you don't have to guess.

Do we need to notify the council?

If the show is on council land, yes, through their events process. On private land you may still need to involve them for licensing (alcohol, entertainment), food safety registration for caterers, or if the event affects the highway. Larger shows may be referred to a Safety Advisory Group regardless of land ownership. A short early conversation with the council's events team is the cheapest way to find out what applies to you.