Just happened to catch this on my XM radio today (tuned into Channel 166 always).
It’s a free service and overcomes a lot of the difficulty with the Amber Alert system in general, that of timely, wide and focused distribution of actual alerts. Here in Texas on some interstate highways, we have the signs, but seriously how many folks see that sign in those first critical hours of an alert. They are certainly useful, but lacking in many ways. The folks at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children do a great job, but have difficulty in getting messages to the public. TV and radio stations are tough to get airtime on, even for messages such as these. Internet radio has had some success with automated alerts being offered free but again, they lack geographic focus that is critical.
I noticed that you can also add up to five zip codes for folks that travel or have out-of-state area codes like I do. Seems like a good idea, certainly worth checking out.
Carry-On
It always rips my guts out when I hear about abducted kids.
Anything to help save those kids is a very good thing.
Here in Florida when an Amber Alert is issued, regular radio programming is preempted and “crawlers” start rolling on the TV.
I had always assumed that it was the same nationwide.
Response to Elephant Man @:
That’s how they do it up hear in Ohio