Vehicle and Road Safety 20151022 Butterfield 1

Fiat - Chrysler, Ford, and the National Automobile Dealers Association oppose the Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act. They argue that rental car companies should be allowed to rent or sell unsafe recalled vehicles with lethal safety defects -- unless the manufacturer decides to issue a "do not drive" warning. Historically, such warnings are extremely rare. It is totally in the manufacturer's discretion whether to issue such a warning. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) lacks the authority to force a manufacturer to issue a "do not drive" warning.

There was NO "do not drive" warning issued for the defect that killed Raechel and Jacqueline Houck -- a steering hose that caused an under-hood fire and loss of steering.

There was also NO "do not drive" warning for the exploding Takata air bag in the recalled rented Honda that killed Jewel Brangman, age 26, in a low-speed collision that would have been easily survivable,. But the shrapnel from the exploding air bag canister sliced an artery in her neck.

In fact, there is NO federal standard for when a manufacturer must issue a "do not drive" warning. Even the opponents of Raechel and Jackie's bill admit that only about 6% of safety recalls involve a "do not drive" warning.

Typical defects where there is NO "do not drive" warning issued:

catching on fire
brake failures
steering loss
seat belts that break apart in a crash
air bags that fail to inflate in a crash
GM ignitiion switch recall, affecting millions of vehicles
Takata air bag recall, affecting millions of vehicles
Toyota sudden acceleration recall, affecting millions of vehicles
faulty child safety seat anchors
axles that break
wheels that fall off