Is Your Car Rental a Ticking Time Bomb?
The actual crash from the Houck sisters rental car that hit an 18 wheeler killing them instantly. The car had an open unrepaired recall
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration www.nhtsa.gova recall on a motor vehicle is necessary in one of two situations: (1) the motor vehicle doesn't comply with a Federal Motor Vehicle SAFETY Standard; or (2) there is a SAFETY related defect in the vehicle.
According to Enterprise Holdings, the owner of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, its company's policy is to not rent vehicles without carrying out recalls if they involve "the risk of sudden loss of control, safety-restraint failure or fire hazards." Other recalls are "addressed as soon as possible."
Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standards set minimum requirements for the parts of a motor vehicle which relate to safety, e.g. braking, steering, tires, fuel leaks, fires, and the like. These regulations are designed to keep drivers and their occupants safe. Enterprise, however, sees them as optional.
The current position of Enterprise is shocking given the recent $15,000,000 verdict awarded in the crash and death of two young women who rented a vehicle from Enterprise and who perished in a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler after the vehicle they were driving caught fire as a result of a recall which was not performed by Enterprise. Jacqueline Houck, 20, and her sister Raechel, 24, rented a PT Cruiser from Enterprise which was subject to a recall for under hood fires. Despite receiving notification of the recall almost a month before the accident, Enterprise continued renting this vehicle up to the time of the fiery crash.
It was reported that the manager of Enterprises Nothern California area explained the reason as "You've got to keep booking, because you don't know when you are going to get a car back. But then of course, you run short on vehicles, and if all you have are recalled vehicles on the lot, you rent them out. It was a given. The whole company did it. Enterprises Corporate Offices looked the other way regarding this fact."
Currently, there is no requirement that a rental car company perform a recall prior to renting it to an unsuspecting consumer. In the Houck case, Enterprise made offers of $3million to the Houck family to keep the case confidential. The mother of the victims, Carol Houck did not want "Enterprise to silence us." Ms. Houck is trying to protect others by pressing the Federal Government to force car rental companies to perform recalls before renting them. Two Consumer Safety Groups, the Center for Auto Safety and Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, have joined Ms. Houck in petitioning the Federal Government to order Enterprise to fix every vehicle with a safety recall before renting it. The petition is pending. The car rental companies are posturing. And your next car rental may just be a ticking time bomb.
Please leave your comments below. How does the story make you feel? Do you feel safe driving rental cars? Have you ever been affected by a recall? Please share your comments below.
Ironically, I have not rented from Enterprise for a quite sometime for different reasons. The biggest reason being the quality of the cars available for rent. So I am not all that surprised by the lack of concern shown by these big money organizations. This article saddens me, it shows that these people, after making so much money, start to disregard human life. My condolences to the family of these two ladies.
14/08/2010
There are several companies continuing to rent this car and i know for a fact another company city of decatur - no credit card needed, on lawrenceville hwy that does not service THEIR cars well. I rented a pt crusier and had to be sure with a service station checking the tires and more for me. I will never rent from them again and especially since reading this.
18/08/2010