Federal Trade Commission
Campaign Aimed at Hazardous Rental Cars Shifts into High Gear
By Ben Kelley
August 9, 2011
A long-standing threat to rental car customers from unrepaired defective cars – an issue that received virtually no attention until early this year – has now become the focus of a sweeping federal legislative proposal to end that threat. Thus, in a brief six months, what started as an obscure court case in California has grown into a national initiative, supported by a cross-section of consumer advocacy groups, to insure the safety of millions of people who rent cars for business or pleasure.
Schumer Introduces Bill That Would Ban Rental Car Companies From Renting Recalled Vehicles To Consumersf
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 28, 2011 SCHUMER INTRODUCES BILL THAT WOULD BAN RENTAL CAR COMPANIES FROM RENTING RECALLED VEHICLES TO CONSUMERS Consumers Union Letter on California Rental Car Bill June 21, 2011June 21, 2011 Senator Noreen Evans, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dear Senator Evans, Are Rental Car Companies Renting Recalled Cars?By WKBW News Rental Car Firms Taking a Wrong Turn on Recall BillBy Ben Kelley 4/21/11 What began as a simple bill to assure that car rental companies in California provide defect-free cars to their customers has become ensnarled in a full-out campaign by those companies to kill the bill as it moves through the state’s legislature. Ironically, the bill does nothing more than require the rental companies to do what they claim they already do in “the vast majority” of cases. Faced With Recalls, Rental Companies Sometimes Decide to WaitBy Christopher Jensen 4/19/11 Several major rental car companies have told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that in some cases they continue to rent vehicles that have been recalled if they believe the problem is not serious. The companies said they were faced with so many recalls it was difficult for them to determine what a Hertz executive called “a true safety recall.”
But as N.H.T.S.A. sees it, there is no such thing as an unimportant recall.
Safety Agency Widens Inquiry into Repairs of Rental CarsBy Christopher Jensen In an expansion of its investigation into whether millions of rental cars are repaired quickly enough, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is demanding that major rental car companies quickly provide detailed information about their safety operations. The investigation began late last year with the agency saying it was troubled by reports of injuries and deaths in unrepaired rental cars. Schumer Announces New Effort to Keep Unsafe Rental Cars Off the RoadFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 2, 2011 SCHUMER ANNOUNCES NEW EFFORT TO KEEP UNSAFE RENTAL CARS OFF THE ROAD; DEFECTIVE VEHICLES SUBJECT TO RECALL ARE STILL BEING RENTED BY RENTAL CAR COMPANIES In Light Of Data Showing Rental Car Companies Continuing To Rent Cars That Are Under Recall Notices, Schumer Will Introduce The Safe Rental Car Act Not all rental cars safe, USA TODAY analysis findsFrequent business traveler Barry Maher avoids Chrysler PT Cruisers because “they seem so flimsy,” but he otherwise doesn’t consider safety ratings before choosing a rental car. Though Maher’s intuition may be sound — the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates the 2010 PT Cruiser’s protection against side and rear-end crashes as poor — he’s like many travelers who rarely think about safety before driving off in a rental vehicle. Yet, many purchase their own cars based on safety. |