A number of major rental-car companies told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) earlier this year that they sometimes continue to rent vehicles that have been recalled if they decide the issue isn’t serious.
Hertz, for example, wrote in its (fairly representative) response to an inquiry from the NHTSA that it only stops renting a recalled vehicle if “the notice is determined to be a true safety recall.”
The NHTSA did not approve of that policy. “All safety recalls resulting from defects present an unreasonable risk to safety,” an agency spokeswoman told The New York Times. “We believe it is inappropriate to suggest that some defects are not risky enough to require repair.”
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer agreed: Shortly after the rental-car companies’ responses were released, he called for a federal ban on renting recalled cars, telling the news organization Reuters that an industry proposal that would essentially maintain the status quo would allow the companies to “shirk their responsibility to consumers’ safety.”
Have you been harmed by a defective vehicle, rental or not? Contact the personal injury attorneys at Hodes Milman toll-free at (949) 640-8222, or submit the contact form via our website, hodesmilman.com. We’ve achieved million-dollar verdicts in product liability actions on behalf of our clients.
