FEMA Believes Consumers Need AM Radio In Vehicles

PHOTO: JOED VIERA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

The lack of AM radio in some new electric vehicles could cut off drivers from important safety alerts broadcast over the medium, warned a group of former emergency officials in a letter Sunday. according to The Wall Street Journal.

Auto makers such as Ford Motor Co. and Tesla Inc. have dropped AM radio from newer EV models. Car companies say the motors on such vehicles generate electromagnetic frequencies on the same wavelength as AM radio signals, creating buzzing and signal fading from the interference. 

The government should seek assurances that auto makers will maintain AM radio in cars, said seven former Federal Emergency Management Agency administrators in a letter Sunday to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and some congressional committees that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The issue, the former officials say, is that AM radio serves as a linchpin of the infrastructure behind the federal National Public Warning System, which provides emergency-alert and warning information from FEMA to the public during natural disasters and extreme weather events. 

“When all else fails, radio stations are often the last line of communications that communities have,” Craig Fugate, the head of FEMA during the Obama administration, said in an interview. Fugate is one of the signers of the letter.

More than 75 radio stations, most of which operate on the AM band and cover at least 90% of the U.S. population, are equipped with backup communications equipment and generators that allow them to continue broadcasting information to the public during and after an emergency, FEMA said. 

“Should this continue, it will represent a grave threat to future local, state, and federal disaster response and relief efforts,” the letter said. 

An estimated 47 million people listen to AM radio, according to media-tracking firm Nielsen.

While drivers nowadays can use smartphones and other tech to dial up their favorite radio stations, the signal keeping those services online isn’t as reliable as AM radio during emergency events, the former FEMA officials said.

Tim Wenger, brand manager of WBEN-AM in Buffalo, N.Y., said AM continues to play an important role for communities around the U.S. During a punishing snowstorm in December that left dozens dead, WBEN remained operational, said Wenger, and on-air hosts took calls from residents.