Why should someone, who buys a mobile home in Maine (for example), subsidize those that live in tornado-prone areas? This is a regional issue, not a national one. a better approach would be to mandate such radios as a requirement to get insurance in tornado-prone areas, not building them into every mobile-home. Seems like typical government: using a sledgehammer when a ball peen hammer is needed.

I agree. Currently the states and localities do the regulation/enforcement of smoke and CO2 detectors, not the feds. Same should be true for NOAA Wx Radio.

HOwever, the NOAA Wx Radios are too difficult to program, and nearly impossible without a manual. NOAA needs to come up with a better interface based more on ZIP code than NWS locality code. That's the place where the feds can do some good work.

The MHI is correct. This is just one more nonsensical, nanny-bill that should be tossed out. Government already dictates FAR too much of how we live our lives, and oversees us more and more each year.

This is one of those things that at first glance it may cause a gut reaction in some people. People might go "what the heck!" But if you do not allow your emotions to dictate your policy positions, and you therefore sit and consider the issue for a moment, you could reasonably decide upon a different policy.

Why on Earth mandate something at a National level, thereby creating a mandate for all 50 States, for a problem that affects less than half of the States????? What percentage of States are affected by tornadoes? Maybe a third?

People in Oregon aren't very concerned about tornadoes; regardless of the type of residence they have. And here where I live, on the outskirts of Portland, we aren't very concerned about hurricanes either. Our issue here is earthquakes. And our building codes reflect our concern over earthquakes. Should the Federal government mandate our building codes at the National level? You don't want to know the additional expense involved in building a commercial structure that meets our earthquake codes. Should people in Mississippi be forced to adopt our earthquake codes? That wouldn't make any sense, now would it?

This is obviously an issue that should be handled at the State level. If States think they need it, they can adopt it. Simple as that. That said, does anyone know if insurance companies offer a discount for emergencies weather radios? I wouldn't be surprised to find that they do. The free market is an incredible force.

Mr. Q.

Insurance companies might not have much of a stake on this issue, since it will still face a loss whether or not the residents received proper notice. Unlike seismic retrofitting.

In theory, states would be the most appropriate place to mandate warning radios. But one problem with leaving so much to the states these days is that the trade associations like the one trying to block this bill can really bully a state legislature. The money it takes to block a state bill is so much less than a bill in Congress.

One question I have ... maybe one of our readers has the answer? ... is whether a mobile home is manufactured with a destination already determined? If not, then dealing with this on the state level would mean having to add weather radios after the initial construction of the house. Not sure if this would increase the cost.

Another problem with leaving this to the states is there are quite a few states (see map) where tornadoes occur often enough that weather radios could significantly improve the safety of those who live in mobile homes. Should a deadly hazard that impacts nearly the entire central part of the country be left to dealt with on a state level?

I don't know how many mobile homes are sold in any State in any given year, but it seems unlikely that it would be more economical to buy a bunch of State legislatures than buy a couple thousand weather radios.

Even if a State doesn't mandate an emergency weather radio, people are still free to go buy one. It is only $35. There is nothing preventing people from purchasing their own emergency weather radios. I have one. It was a Christmas gift.

Our Declaration of Independence states our belief in "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Liberty is messy. People exercising their liberty may make poor choices. That's just the way it is. If you remove the freedom of choice, in order to mandate what Congress thinks is best for you, then you are eroding liberty.

That's the problem our Country currently faces. Well intentioned people, who feel like they know best, are continually eroding our liberties. Our liberties are the proverbial frog in a pot of water, and the temperature is being slowly increased.

Just because someone is well intentioned, we should not sit back and allow them to slowly erode our liberties, by dictating every aspect of our life. I prefer to make my own choices. If I make a mistake along the way, then so be it. That is the price of liberty. The option to choose poorly comes with freedom of choice. It is an all or nothing deal.

I prefer liberty and freedom of choice. I am willing to accept responsibility for my choices.

Do some of you really want the government to mandate every aspect of your life? Don't we have enough existing laws limiting our freedoms? Do you really trust government to make the smart choice for you? Do you trust government more than you trust yourself?

Mr. Q.

One big problem: The weather radio band is outside the normal AM/FM spectrum; thus you need to have a special receiver to get it. There should be at least ONE NOAA weather station in the normal AM and FM spectra.

Last year NVCC broadcast weather radio on their station somewhere around AM 1600. Unfortunately they discontinued the practice. In addition, Arlington County's station AM 1700 could consider broadcasting NOAA weather radio whenever there's no emergency in Arlington County.

As for weather warnings in the middle of the night many of us dislike getting phone calls in the wee hours of the morning and will disconnect our phones in order to avoid getting such calls. (I can vividly remember some lady calling me at 3 AM asking if "the cab was running". Evidently my number was similar to some taxicab number!)

Mr. Q -- Disregarding the state vs. federal question for a second, you should consider that not everyone has enough money to spend on a weather radio, and not everyone is informed enough to know that weather radios exist and could one day save their lives. Both are especially true for many people who live in mobile homes.

Dan, as much as I would enjoy a good discussion with you, I can not participate. I TRULY wish that I could, but to do so might result in my being banned. I have been warned by the anonymous "Capital Weather Gang" against posting too many times. They didn't say how many was too many. Apparently, that is an arbitrary number which I will only discover when I cross it. Since I don't want to be banned, I must pass on debating you. :(

Quoting the anonymous (isn't that forbidden by your guidelines) "Capital Weather Gang" -
"... Also, in the spirit of not having one commenter "hijack" the discussion here, we'd appreciate it if your posts were less numerous and more concise ("brevity is the soul of wit"). Your long diatribes are dominating the discussion and intimidating/turning off other commenters (we've received emails to this effect). This is supposed to be a discussion area for multiple opinions not a one-person sounding board or soap-box. Failure to abide by these guidelines may result in blockage at our discretion."

This post makes my third post, and I dare not post any more than three times in one thread. :(

Mr. Q.

How about a statistical analysis, Mr Q?

Dan,

I think you are way, way, way off base. Why should every single mobile home have mandated weather radios in them? As I and others have posted, the destination region determines whether one would be helpful or not. That proposal is like mandating car manufacturers install/provide a child seat in every car, whether the purchaser has children or not. Who is against child safety seats?

Safety is an individual's perogative. If you feel unsafe, get a radio, find out which frequencies broadcast weather, and tune in. That's what sailors do. Not a 'national issue' unless, it seems, you live in DC.

There is a reason those in areas like Maine should subsidize weather radios for those in tornado prone areas when they buy a mobile home...

These radios also will alert that Maine resident when there is an amber alert, 911 outage, boil water order, flood warning, chemical spill, or a whole mess of other emergencies for their area.

They aren't just a good idea for easily tornado eaten mobile homes, they are a great idea for ALL homes.