Electric Vehicles Need Am Radio, Former Emergency Officials Argue

I think the suggestion is less about modulation and more about the band. The frequency band used for AM radio will propagate further than the band used for FM, at least in the US. The North American clear-channel system is related to this propagation feature.

Aren’t you supposed to call 911 in an emergency and not a broadcast radio station?

My experience is that AM radio is a joke in upstate NY. During the day the one station you can count on is the one The Rush Limbaugh show used to be on. At high altitudes it is fun around sunset between the time the D layer disappears and stations reduce their power output/antenna gain you can hear Bloomberg Radio anticipating the stock market opening in Hong Kong and then hear it fight it out with the Black Information Network in Detroit.

I live in a valley which is a radio dead spot and even though I get quite a few TV stations with a medium sized outdoor antenna I can tune in nothing at all with either of my home theatre receivers probably because my old farmhouse is chuck full of nails, flashing and other electromagnetic barriers.