While auto dealers are required to fix recalled vehicles, rental car companies aren’t legally required to. This safety issue has been discussed at the federal level, but at least one state is moving forward to ensure all rental cars are safe.
California Assembly members voted 42 to 26 to pass a safety measure to ban companies from renting or selling recalled vehicles, according to news reports.
The bill hits home for some state residents, who remember the 2004 car accident involving two California women, ages 24 and 20, who died in a crash involving a recalled rental car.
Opponents of the bill, however, said the bill goes too far.
“”If this bill related to life-threatening defects, recalls that are life threatening, that would make sense, if it were drafted to exclude windshield wipers, that would make sense,” said Assm. Charles Calderon, D-Montabello to news reports.
Proponents said that even proper working windshield wipers are necessary for safety.
The state Senate will now have to approve the bill
As a Charleston car accident attorney, I think it’s important to try to fix all recalled vehicles before putting them on the road.There have been nearly 20 million auto recalls this year alone, according to ABC News, and nearly one in three cars on the roads have recalled parts or problems.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a vehicle recall, contact a personal injury lawyer in Charleston.