Personal Injury Law

FTC Petition Requests That Rental Car Industry Fix Recalled Vehicles Before Renting Them

By Regan Zambri & Long

Posted by Salvatore J. Zambri, founding member and senior partner

As we have posted previously, the ongoing battle between safety groups and the rental car industry continues.  Following the deaths of two sisters renting a recalled vehicle and the subsequent jury verdict, the Center for Auto Safety and Consumers for Auto Safety and Reliability petitioned the FTC to force Enterprise Holdings, Inc. (the country's largest rental car agency) to repair vehicles under recall  notice prior to renting them out. 

As of November 1, 2010, Senator Charles Schumer got involved by writing to the FTC. According to a report by National Public Radio (NPR), "Schumer asked the FTC Monday to end the practice across the industry, telling the federal agency in a letter that "if automotive dealers are not allowed to sell recalled vehicles without first fixing the safety issues, then rental car companies should be held to the same standard. If a car is not safe enough to be bought and driven off the lot, then it is not safe enough to rent," Schumer wrote. Threatening legislation, he said that if the FTC "can't or won't act, Congress will."

Consumers need to have confidence that the vehicles they rent are safe enough to drive and not worry about whether the rental car agency has decided that profits are more important than safety. We will continue to follow this safety issue and blog about its implication for our readers. 

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About the author:

Mr. Zambri is a board-certified civil trial attorney by the National Board of Trial Advocates and a Past-President of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. He has been rated by Washingtonian magazine as a "Big Gun" and among the "top 1%" of all lawyers in the Washington metropolitan area. The magazine also describes him as "one of Washington's best--most honest and effective lawyers" who specializes in personal injury matters, including premises liability, automobile accident, product liability, medical malpractice, and work-accident claims. Mr. Zambri has also been acknowledged as one of "The Best Lawyers in America" by Law and Politics (2011 edition) and has been repeatedly named a "Super Lawyer" by Super Lawyer magazine (March/April 2010)-- national publications that honor the top lawyers in America.

If you have any questions about your legal rights, please email Mr. Zambri at szambri@reganfirm.com or call him at 202-822-1899.

Full post as published by DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog on November 03, 2010 (boomark / email).