Enterprise Rent-A-Car Responds to Grieving Mother, Supports Legislation

- - - - Updated at 4 p.m. on Thursday - - - - 

On Wednesday, Patch reported about a California mother who initiated an online, social change petition through Change.org against Enterprise Rent-A-Car because company representatives were resisting proposed legislation that would require rental car companies to remove recalled vehicles from their fleets until repaired. The petitioner, Cally Houck, lost her two daughters' lives to an accident stemming from them driving a rented vehicle from Enterprise Rent-A-Car that was known to be identified for recall. 

See Wednesday's article:  

 officials stated on Thursday afternoon they now officially will join the industry in supporting federal legislation that oversees how companies, such as theirs, manage the recall process. 

"We share the Houck family’s goal of preventing anything like this from happening again. We hope that our efforts will include the opportunity to work with Cally Houck, the mother of Raechel and Jacqueline, who has remained so diligent in her efforts to secure legislation in this area," stated Laura Bryant, spokesperson for Enterprise Holdings in a statement emailed to Patch.

What Changed?

Within 24 hours of Houck launching the petition, she had more than 100,000 supporters. At the time of publishing this article, she has almost 129,800. 

Bryant said ongoing discussion about this issue has occurred for the past two years—a discussion that she stated began in earnest following the resolution of a lawsuit in which Enterprise Rent-A-Car accepted responsibility for the accident that claimed the lives of Houck's daughters.

"The vehicle was under recall at the time. The tragedy of the Houck sisters’ deaths can never be undone, and all of us at Enterprise are profoundly sorry," stated Bryant in the statement.

Through the court process, Bryant said Enterprise Holdings representatives accepted responsibility for the accident. "Since the accident in 2004, Enterprise and others in our industry have made many significant changes in the process for inspecting and repairing recalled vehicles," stated Bryant. "Given all the improvements we have made since that fatal crash, today that vehicle would never be rented."

She said Enterprise customers can rest assured vehicles rented from the company are properly maintained and meet the highest standards for safety.

But even with all of these safeguards, a number of individuals and organizations have asked for additional oversight in the form of federal legislation, she said. "In the past, we believed this step was unnecessary, but a growing number of people, including our customers and business partners, clearly want more assurance on this critical issue," Bryant stated.

"We hear them—and what we’ve heard has caused us to rethink our stance."

- - - - Original Post (Feb. 23 at 11 a.m.) - - - - 

The social action campaign focused on Enterprise was initiated this week by Cally Houck, a mother whose two daughters were killed in an accident when they drove a recalled car rented to them by Enterprise, according to information released by Change.org.

 has a Wenetzville location at 1580 S. Service Rd. off of  Interstate 70. 

Raechel, 24, and Jacqueline, 20, died in 2004 when the power-steering fluid leaked in their recalled PT Cruiser, which then caught fire—causing them to lose control of the car and crash into a semi tractor-trailer, according to the Change.org release. It also stated a month before the fatal crash, Enterprise received the safety recall notice from Chrysler, but did not fix the car; instead continuing to rent the defective PT Cruiser to three other customers before renting it to Houck’s daughters.

Laura Bryant, spokesperson for Enterprise Holdings told Patch in an email Wednesday:  "The Houck accident in 2004 was a terrible tragedy. Our hearts go out to the family, and we are very sorry for their loss. Given all we have learned, today we would ground the recalled PT Cruiser until repaired. We share the Houcks’ goal of preventing anything like this from happening again."

In a USA Today article, Houck called her daughters' rented vehicle "a ticking time bomb."

After a five-year legal battle, Enterprise admitted it was 100 percent liable for the young women's deaths. Houck was awarded $15 million in damages from a jury two years ago.

“I want to keep this from happening to another family and to be sure that my daughters' memory is preserved,” Houck stated in the Change.org release. “Until there is real accountability and Enterprise has a responsibility to its customers, we are still going to have problems like this. I created this petition because I have to go forward on this. My daughters' memory demands it.”

To see Houck's petition, click here.

Houck launched her petition on Change.org, according to the release, when she learned that Enterprise is allegedly working "behind closed doors" to oppose an amendment that New York Sen. Charles Schumer and California Sen. Barbara Boxer plan to include in an upcoming surface transportation bill. The amendment would prohibit car rental companies from renting recalled cars until they are fixed, a regulation that already applies to car manufacturers and new car dealers.

Enterprise Holdings Stance on this Issue:

As a result of the increase in the number and frequency of automobile safety recalls in recent years—in particular the massive Toyota recall of early 2010—Bryant said Enterprise teams made significant changes and improvements in their processes for inspecting and repairing recalls.

She said the company does not rent vehicles that are subject to a recall notice approved by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and received from manufacturers.

"However, we also maintain a team of senior executives to review recalls when the manufacturer recommends an interim measure. From time to time, we may elect to use that interim solution to avoid stranding many travelers for no reason," said Bryant, citing the most significant example of this common-sense approach is the Toyota floor mat recall, whereby simply removing the mats promptly completely addressed the problem.

"Even in such cases, we have recall work done on our vehicles as quickly as possible," she said.

Bryant said there are, however, a number of respected individuals—including elected officials and regulators—who believe additional oversight of the recall process may be needed. "While we believe this (proposed) well-meaning legislation is unnecessary and based on inaccurate, obsolete data, our company continues to work with these individuals and organizations, including NHTSA and the auto manufacturers, to find common ground and produce a solution that addresses everyone’s concerns.

"In fact, we openly and repeatedly share data on recall completion with NHTSA to assist them in completing studies of rental recalls."

Enterprise Holdings is the nation’s largest rental car company, and owns the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car, and National Car Rental brands.