UPDATE: Enterprise Rent-A-Car Backs Legislation on Vehicle Recalls

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

The statement comes after a grieving mother’s recently launched Change.org campaign requesting that Enterprise Rent-A-Car stop opposing proposed legislation that would prohibit rental car companies from renting cars recalled because of safety risks.

As of late Thursday afternoon, nearly 130,000 people had signed the petition.

On Wednesday, -based Enterprise Holdings' representatives said that the company conducts nearly 50 million vehicle rental transactions every year and that customer safety is a top priority. Enterprise is the nation’s largest rental-car company and owns the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental brands.

The social action campaign by Cally Houck began this week. Her two daughters died in an accident that occurred while driving a recalled car rented to them by Enterprise, according to information released by Change.org staff.

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 tractor-trailer, according to the Change.org release. A month before the fatal crash, Change.org claims, Enterprise received the safety recall notice from Chrysler but did not fix the car. Instead, the group claims, Enterprise continued to rent the defective PT Cruiser to three other customers before renting it to Houck’s daughters.

"The Houck accident in 2004 was a terrible tragedy," Laura Bryant, a spokeswoman for Enterprise Holdings, told Eureka-Wildwood Patch in an email Wednesday. "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."

Houck called her daughters' rented vehicle "a ticking time bomb" in a USA Today article published this week.

After a five-year legal battle, Enterprise admitted it was 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 Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) 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 the issue

Just a day ago, Bryant said that 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—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 (NHTSA) 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. She referenced the Toyota floor mat recall, in which the of mats quickly addressed the problem.

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

Bryant said at the time that there are a number of respected individuals—including elected officials and regulators—who think 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," she stated Wednesday. "In fact, we openly and repeatedly share data on recall completion with NHTSA to assist them in completing studies of rental recalls."

Enterprise amended its stance Thursday, when Bryant stated that customers can rest assured vehicles rented from the company are properly maintained and meet the highest standards for safety.

As for proposed legislation that would provide additional oversight, she stated:

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