Enterprise Rent-A-Car: Stop opposing a law prohibiting companies from renting out recalled cars

Enterprise Rent-A-Car: Stop opposing a law prohibiting companies from renting out recalled cars

Started
February 21, 2012
Petition to
Press Contact, Enterprise Rent-a-Car Lisa Martini and
Confirmed victory
This petition made change with 160,764 supporters!

Why this petition matters

Started by Cally Houck

In 2004, my two daughters, Raechel and Jacquie, were killed when the car they rented from Enterprise caught fire and crashed into a tractor trailer. The PT Cruiser they were driving had been recalled a month before for a defective steering component that was prone to catching fire. Enterprise rented it to three other customers before renting it to my daughters, without bothering to fix it first. It was a ticking time bomb.

Raechel was 24. Jacquie was 20. When we went to court two years ago, Enterprise admitted full liability. But today, Enterprise is still renting unsafe cars. The next victim could be you, or someone you love. Nothing can replace my daughters, but together we can keep others from going through what I did. There are loopholes in existing federal law that allow companies like Enterprise to rent out vehicles that are under a safety recall, even though manufacturers and new car dealers are prohibited from selling new cars that are under safety recalls.

Why am I posting this today? Because this morning, USA Today reported that Hertz has reached a historic agreement with consumer advocates to support a law that would prohibit car companies from selling or renting vehicles under recall notice. Enterprise is leading the charge against this same law.

It's no surprise: Enterprise, the nation's largest rental car company and owner of Alamo and National Car Rental, has a terrible record on safety. On multiple occasions, Enterprise has chosen to cut corners by purchasing cars without optional or sometimes even standard safety equipment. In one incident, the victim was an Iraq war veteran who returned from deployment in Iraq in good health -- until the car he rented from Enterprise spun out on slick pavement, rendering him quadriplegic.

Congress could vote on this law as part of the transportation bill being debated this very moment. The Hertz announcement gives us the momentum, but we don't have much time. That's why I need the help of the Change.org community.

Please, join me in calling on Enterprise CEO Andrew Taylor to drop the company's opposition to this basic safety law right now, before someone else is hurt. I believe that if Enterprise does the right thing, the other rental companies will join Hertz and follow suit.

This isn't about my family anymore. This is about all those other families, and everyone who rents a car in the future or has a loved one who rents a car. I can't do this alone. I need your help.

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This petition made change with 160,764 supporters!

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