When you are making plans to get away for the summer, rental car reservations are merely one of the many tasks that must be handled. Although you may give a fair amount of thought to issues like how much to spend, size of your vehicle and type of vehicle, you probably will not spend a lot of time worrying about if the vehicle is actually safe. Unfortunately, major rental car agencies currently can and do rent cars, SUVs and vans that have been recalled without remedying the problem.
The notion of renting a car while traveling that has a leaky fuel system, faulty brakes or tires prone to a blowout is frightening. However, there is no legal requirement that a rental car agency repair a defective motor vehicle before it is again re-rented to another patron. Federal law does protect consumers from defective motor vehicles by issues vehicle recalls. Sadly, the requirement that unsafe component parts or systems be corrected prior to a vehicle being made available to a consumer applies to new vehicle sales but not rental cars.
Given the substantial danger posed by renting a car with a safety defect, the House of Representatives announced a proposed bill this week that would force rental car agencies to eliminate product defects that are the subject of a recall before the vehicle can be rented to a new customer. While the four largest car rental companies in the U.S. claim that they do not rent cars subject to recall until the problem has been addressed, three of these car rental companies have refused to sign a voluntary agreement assuring consumers that they would not do so in the future.
The reluctance of rental car companies to take appropriate steps to prevent consumer from being exposed to defective motor vehicles has prompted the federal government to take action. The Safe Rental Car Act of 2012 would impose a mandatory requirement that rental car companies comply with any defective vehicle recalls before a motor vehicle can again be made available for rental by patrons. Because the legislation has not yet been passed, consumers should specifically ask whether the rental car that they are being offered is the subject of any pending recall.
While some might believe it unlikely that a defective rental car would be involved in a Mississippi car accident, the mother of two daughters that died in a fatal collision involving a defective rental car created the motivation for this legislation. Two sisters in their early twenties died in a head-on collision with a commercial truck after their vehicle rented from Enterprise ignited because of a defective fuel system that had previously been recalled. If you or a loved one has been injured or you have lost a loved one in a Mississippi car accident, our experienced Mississippi car accident lawyers at Barrett Law represent clients throughout Mississippi so call us today for a free no obligation initial case evaluation at (662) 834-2376. Our law firm has roots that reach back over 75 years helping car accident victims in Mississippi just like you.