How long before this happens here?

[Doctle Odd]

Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.4 million cars after Jeep hack - BBC News

[zollaf]

probably some kids on their playsation did it by accident. poor driver...

[Doctle Odd]

If you could remotely disable even top of the range Audi's in London/Dublin/Madrid etc you could pretty much close the city through gridlock. Back to the 8 track stereo and a 1Z ecomatic golf for me

[zollaf]

now there is an idea. you wouldn't need many stationary cars to bring a big chunk of the whole country to a standstill.

[Doctle Odd]

now there is an idea. you wouldn't need many stationary cars to bring a big chunk of the whole country to a standstill.

Yep, you could bankrupt a country with stalled cars. Not Cuba tho

[zollaf]

just like one proper winter could. imagine if we had a repeat of 1963 this year. chaos and most people would die as a result.

[Phutters]

...most people would die as a result.

Horse feathers.

Most people? Most is more than half, isn't it?

Thirty five million dead?

Get out of here

It wouldn't be pretty though, I reckon you're right about that. The thing is we can't justify (or afford) the investment required to safeguard the transport infrastructure against a really rough winter because they just don't happen often enough to justify it. This argument is trotted out every year. Why is it that countries like Canada can carry on functioning routinely in weather many times more severe than what we experience?

It's because it is routine for them, and if it happens every year the investment is completely justified.

It would be unsustainable for us to have wickedly expensive snowblowing machines hanging around on lonely railway sidings or dozens of huge six-wheel drive snowploughs sitting idly in council depots going quietly rusty because we only ever needed them once in a blue moon. And even though all this kit was unused and not actually wearing out it would still need to be maintained, and maintenance cost yet more money.

It's also worth bearing in mind that this kind of infrastructure investment wouldn't be quite as unaffordable if the National Health Service wasn't a bottomless pit (or if it wasn't there at all), but you can't really have your cake and eat it

[Doctle Odd]

just like one proper winter could. imagine if we had a repeat of 1963 this year. chaos and most people would die as a result.

Could is the key word. Yes it's possible, there are many people, countries and organisations that would love chaos in western countries. You jam the roads, no food no fuel getting through and you have a disaster on your hands with a bad winter.

[zollaf]

Horse feathers.

Most people? Most is more than half, isn't it?

Thirty five million dead?

Get out of here

quite possible. 10 foot of snow over the whole country, including london. all airports closed and all roads from all ports closed. no coal for power stations, no food being delivered, gas lines frozen. temps in the day of -10. everyone is hungry after 2 weeks, and after 4 weeks you are either dead or not far from it. its not a case of would 35 million die, rather how would 35 million make it through. only those with enough food and wood for the fire would make it. we have seen weather like this before, during the maunder minimum when the thames froze over. people were less reliant on the roads to keep them fed back then. scary...

[Doctle Odd]

This is a very different world from what it was in the early 60's. Back then central heating was a luxury usually powered from an open fire or solid fuel cooker, not so many people with an actual fire any more, even rural Ireland has piped gas for heating and no back up. People used to be self sufficient but there really has been a "dumbing down" in the last 20 years or so, ironically caused by the internet that might be used to take over their cars.. How many people have a vegetable garden, can make bread or jam or even cook a meal from scratch? I bet a lot of those that can are aged 50+ I agree with Zollaf, it's all possible.