Former Federal Officials Warn Ditching This Old-Timey Car Feature Might Be Disastrous In Emergencies
Pete Buttigieg’s inbox is being blown up by former emergency officials who warned the Secretary of Transportation that removing AM radios could be disastrous in an emergency. In case you haven’t heard, automakers are talking about moving forward. This could be a problem.
What are AM radios?
Many new cars, especially electric cars, have phased out the old-car advantage over the past decade or so. The removal of AM radio was mostly contained to European automakers. Accordingly, as of last summer, the makers of AM abandonment cited audio quality issues as the primary reason for the deletion.
It is the simplest and oldest form of wireless transmission. This type of radio is often called medium wave radio. People worried about losing AM don’t just want to keep it for no reason. The advantages of AM are that not only can AM signals be transmitted farther than FM, but nearly 90 percent of the country can still be reached via AM.
Why do we need AM radio?
However, this is happening in America as well. Just erase his AM receiver.
A letter is sent from seven former FEMA administrators to warn Secretary Pete of the loss of AM. “If this continues, it will present a serious threat to future local, state, and federal disaster response and relief efforts,” the letter warns.
“When all else fails, radio stations are often the last line of communication that communities have,” added Craig Fogatti, FEMA chief under President Obama and a signatory to the letter.
“AM radio has been tested time and time again during the most devastating natural disasters – and has withstood them all,” added FEMA’s current administrator, Antoine Johnson.
Do cars still have AM radios?
Yes they do. The drive notes that some EVs and a lot of other new cars still have the old standby mode. Some of the EVs she still has are the Chevy Bolt. Even Hyundai’s fictional futuristic cellphone, however, still has an AM radio. If warning emergency officials wasn’t enough to convince Bottegi, perhaps Nielsen’s report to nearly 47 million national listeners can.
AM radio is not dead. I just slowed down. These days, fewer cars are built with any way to listen to physical media like CDs. What AM radio does is ensure that even if you go deep into the desert or high in the mountains, you can still get some talk radio or maybe some jazz or gospel music. AM might seem like a completely outdated feature, but given the state of things, having a massive, nationwide way to get a message across probably isn’t the worst idea. These days, things are going fast. If COVID has taught us anything, it is that our world is fragile and things can change in the blink of an eye. Maybe sticking to AM radio isn’t the worst idea.
