Stephens & Stephens Personal Injury Attorneys

Car2Go is an innovative carsharing business that has found a successful alternative solution in reducing congestion, traffic, and emissions.

What IS CAR2GO?

Here’s the concept: you have to sign up for a membership card in advance. Once you have the card, you can short-term rent any available car (you can find which are available by looking at the car2go app or online, or if you spot one, a car2go with a green blinking light on the dash). The rental process is fast and easy:

• Press your membership card to the windshield:

Car2Go rental and membership card

• (Walk around the car to inspect for damage)
• Once the computer recognizes your card, the doors unlock
• Get in
• Rate the car’s cleanliness and report any damage (by answering questions on a touch screen)
• Use the key, located in a receptacle next to the touch screen, to start the car
• And you are off!

What does it cost?

I registered for free, but I hear that the registration fee may now be $35.00, one-time.

Please note: You can drive as long and as far as you like, just be aware that every mile over 150 miles will be charged at 45 cents per mile.

About the car2go Pilot Project in Austin, Texas

In 2010, Diamler began the car2go pilot project in Austin, with their only other location in Germany. According to their website, they have almost 15,000 registered users. And what a great experiment it has been. However, after_________________ [problem with no cars in area…]

My Experience with car2go

I live in South Austin, and, while I have my own car, I find it useful when we have guests in town without a car, or when my car is in the shop, or when I want to drive it one-way, to meet some friends, for instance. I have neighbors who share a car, and the car2go is an easy way to increase flexibility when you share a car – if you both need the car, you can always rent a car2go, which could be less expensive, used sparingly, than a car payment.

In the Spring of 2011 (the weekend of SXSW, coincidentally), car2go upgraded its cars and expanded its fleet. It also expanded the user area by about 50%. While in 2010, I almost always found a car2go within a convenient walk of my house, now, I almost always cannot find a car within 1/2 mile of my house, and they all seem to have migrated to the outer edges of the user area. I’m currently unhappy about this new change, but it may all shake out and return to normal.

I’ve had a few other issues with car2go rentals:

• Once, the car recognized my card, started the rental, but then timed out and never unlocked the doors. I called car2go (the next day, as they were already closed), and they informed me that my account had been charged for a 16 hour rental. Once I explained the issue, they credited my account.
• A few other times, I have had troubles with closing the rental, but I have called, and, after noting that the car didn’t move for 10 hours of the rental, car2go credited my account. (These issues may have been solved with the new fleet.)

It’s Green

About 80 percent of the new car2go vehicles in Austin will be equipped with another innovative feature: A 100 Watt solar roof which is fully integrated in the on-board electronics and serves to supply power to the telematics and continually charges the car’s battery. This allows fuel consumption to be reduced. In addition, if the vehicle is parked in the sun, solar energy is used to power the ventilation system, which reduces the interior temperature. This not only adds to the comfort when a customer gets into the car in hot temperature conditions, but also reduces the burden on the environment, because the air-conditioning system needs to expend considerably less energy to cool the car down, thus reducing fuel consumption. Cool!

Membership Cards and Authorized Users

• It now costs $35.00 per membership card.
• You need a physical membership card to unlock and use a car2go vehicle.
• You may have more than one authorized member under the same membership card, for no fee, but this obviously causes convenience and logistical problems, because two authorized members under the same card could not use 2 cars at the same time.
• The cards do not have any unique markings that allow you to distinguish them from one another, save for a number on the card. You cannot find this number anywhere on the account. The only way you can verify that card is yours (in case you mix it up with a spouse or roommate) is to call car2go and have them verify that number matches your account.
• My husband and I each have a separate member card, but we added each other as authorized members on our cards. This way, even if we mix up the cards, we aren’t an unauthorized user.
• The way the car distinguishes which user is driving the car2go vehicle is that it asks which driver will be using the car. You just select your name and answer the usual damage and cleanliness questions.

OK, now about the legal issues:

car2go gives it’s disclaimer: “Important: The car2go Austin member is responsible for all processing costs related to damage for which he or she is responsible, such as extreme soiling of the car2go, driving offenses, and violations of the valid terms of use.”

1. 1.      This is just like any other rental: don’t accept it if it’s damaged! It’s important to walk around and inspect the entire vehicle before you get in. If you don’t notice damage, you could get stuck with the bill, though I don’t know how this works with car2go. Another renter before you could have damaged the car and closed the rental without reporting it.

1. Insurance:
   1. You may not be covered by car2go’s insurance. According to car2go’s terms and conditions, you must be a member or authorized driver (among other things) to be covered by their insurance, and here’s their criteria:

Section 3 – Driver Authorization

3.1 The only persons who shall be authorized to drive car2go car-sharing vehicles are persons who:

a) are Members or authorized Drivers as defined in Section 1;

b) hold a valid driver’s license issued in a United States jurisdiction authorizing the holder to drive a         passenger vehicle, and who meet all of the conditions, restrictions, or other requirements that may be          contained therein;

c) are at least 18 years of age, approval of Members and/or Drivers between the ages of 18 and 21         may be subject to certain specified criteria and/or restrictions at the discretion of car2go and/or   car2go’s insurer(s);

d) have a valid car2go Membership card in accordance with Section 5 herein;

e) are of sound mind and memory and have not used any drugs, imbibed any alcohol or taken any          medication that could adversely affect their ability to drive (for alcohol, a zero-tolerance policy is      adopted and a limit of 0.0% applies); and who

f) have selected a method of payment in the car2go internet portal and have registered the

corresponding data or Drivers who are authorized to drive at the expense of a Member.

Should any Member’s driver’s license be revoked or lost, authorization to drive car2go vehicles shall expire immediately.

https://www.car2go.com/austin/en/files/car2go_austin_terms_and_conditions.pdf

Further, if you allow a third-party who is unauthorized by car2go under your membership card, to drive a vehicle, you would be required to pay $1,500.00 per violation. This includes someone who is also a member, but who drove the vehicle using your car2go membership card (as opposed to a driver who is authorized under your membership card at the expense of a member).

1. Base membership coverage includes the following limits:

• Liability of $100,000 Bodily injury per person / $300,000 Bodily injury per accident per accident and
• $50,000 Physical Damage per accident.
• Coverage for the car2go vehicle is provided with a deductible of $1000 per occurrence.
• Note that there is no uninsured/undersinsured motorist (“UM/UIM”) coverage.
•             What is UM/UIM coverage?
  • It is coverage that may cover you and your passengers in the car, in the event that you are in an accident and the other part involved has no or too little insurance to cover the damage to your car, medical bills and expenses. In another post, I will cover the advantages of UM/UIM coverage.
  • What does this mean if you get into a car crash while driving a car2go vehicle?
  • Unless your own auto insurance coverage has UM/UIM coverage (and adequate coverage, at that), if you are driving a car2go and are injured in a car wreck caused by another person, you may not have insurance coverage if the other person has little or no insurance. This is only a general statement. You need to consult an attorney to determine what coverage applies to your specific situation.
  • Here’s an Example:
  • You rent a car2go vehicle to get groceries. You have no passengers. Along the way, a teenager texting on his iPhone runs a red light and smashes your little car2go to smithereens. You are severely injured and have lots of medical bills and lots of lost wages. The teenager has no liability insurance or has minimum limit insurance of $25,000 liability bodily injury insurance. It’s not enough to cover your medical or your lost wages. If you had UM/UIM coverage through your own insurance, it may cover over and above what insurance the teenager had.

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