If you have ever rented a car, you have probably assumed that the vehicle you are renting does not pose any kind of safety risk for you and your passengers. However, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), car rental companies are generally slow to make the repairs necessitated by automobile recalls, significantly increasing the likelihood of car accidents, injuries and fatalities.

While the NHTSA has authority over car manufacturers and vehicle safety recalls, it does not have jurisdiction over the rental car industry. Therefore, rental companies have no legal duty to comply with the terms of vehicle recalls, and they rarely do so in a timely manner.

According to documents submitted to the NHTSA by Chrysler and GM, it can take several months for a rental company to repair a recalled vehicle. Further, the documents revealed that no major rental company made all necessary recall repairs within a year. It is unclear whether they are renting recalled vehicles during that time, but it does not seem likely that the companies would allow potentially money-making vehicles to sit dormant for a year or more.

As a result, several federal lawmakers and safety advocates have pushed for greater regulation of rental car companies and their compliance with safety recalls. Recently, Hertz Rent-A-Car reached an agreement with advocacy group Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, which calls for Congress to give authority over rental car repairs to the NHTSA. The agreement also forbids companies from renting recalled cars before necessary repairs are made.

The agreement will likely add support for an amendment to a federal transportation bill which contains identical provisions. If it passes, the amendment will significantly increase the safety of rented vehicles in Pittsburgh and throughout the country.

Source: USA Today, "Safety Advocates: Rental car recalls should be regulated," Gary Stoller, Feb. 19, 2012