There’s always a slightly greater risk for an accident occurring when you’re driving a vehicle with which you’re unfamiliar, which means you need to be careful when renting a car. Here are a few things you should know before you sign the rental agreement:
- You have the right to assume any vehicle you rent is going to be safe to operate. Rental companies have a duty to ensure all vehicles they own and rent out are in a safe, roadworthy condition. Vehicles should undergo regular inspections before rental. Read your rental agreement so you can find out what will be covered if the vehicle turns out to be defective. It also helps to give a quick inspection of the vehicle yourself before you get behind the wheel.
- The rental agency is not responsible for crashes, even if you were driving safely and obeying all local traffic laws. However, there are some situations in which the agency could be at fault for renting a vehicle to someone with a known record for driving recklessly or being unfit to operate a vehicle.
- Your current insurance policy likely has some rental car coverage, but you should check first before buying rental insurance from the company.
- If you get into an accident, you will proceed the same way you would with your own car, but also report the incident to the rental company and never offer to settle or pay without the rental company’s consent.
If you have been injured in a Florida car accident involving a rental vehicle, contact the knowledgeable Bradenton attorneys at Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez, Murphy & Walsh today.