A new bill has been introduced to the US House of Representatives that will keep car rental companies from renting out vehicles that have been recalled due to safety risks. The Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2012 has been named after the two young women who died in an Enterprise Rent-A-Car vehicle that had been under recall. The act will require that rental firms ground recalled vehicles until they have been repaired.
The sponsor of the bill, Representative Lois Capps of California, advised that the bill is intended to ensure the safety of America’s rental car fleet by prohibiting the rental or sale of vehicles under a recall. More specifically, the bill would close an existing gap in safety standards by requiring rental car companies to ground recalled vehicles as soon as they receive a safety recall notice, and prohibit rental of motor vehicles under a safety recall because of a defect related to motor vehicle safety or noncompliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard until required repairs are made
“If a recall notice has been issued for a rented car, that car should be taken off the road until it’s fixed – it’s that simple,” said Congresswoman Capps. She further stated that “passing this straightforward bill will protect the public’s safety and ensure that what happened to Raechel and Jacquie Houck will never happen again.”
It is important to contact an experienced injury lawyer if you or a family member are a victim involved in a motor vehicle accident. The lawyers at Liever, Hyman & Potter, P.C. have handled many serious injury cases in Reading, PA; Pottsville, PA; and throughout Pennsylvania.