# 54



DJ 202-PL-16

III-4.4200                                   January 26, 1993





Mr. J. Keith Ausbrook
Collier, Shannon & Scott
3050 K Street, NW
Washington, DC  20007

Dear Mr. Ausbrook:

     This letter is in response to your inquiry on behalf of the
American Car Rental Association ("ACRA") to determine whether its
members must provide vehicles equipped with hand controls when
doing so would be readily achievable, and to identify the
circumstances under which providing vehicles equipped with hand
controls would be readily achievable.

     The ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to provide
technical assistance to individuals and entities having rights or
obligations under the Act.  This letter provides informal
guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA's requirements. 
However, it does not constitute a legal interpretation or legal
advice and it is not binding on the Department of Justice.

     Title III of the ADA imposes certain obligations on places
of public accommodation.  The Act lists twelve types of entities
as places of public accommodation, including the category of
rental establishments.  Please see the enclosed title III
regulation at section 36.104 on pages 35594 and 35551 for more on
the definition of a place of public accommodation.

     The owners and operators of places of public accommodation
may not discriminate on the basis of an individual's disability
when providing goods and services to that person.  To prevent
such discrimination, the owners and operators must remove
barriers to accessibility of their goods and services if removal
is readily achievable, i.e., easily accomplished and able to be
carried out without much difficulty or expense.  Installation of
vehicle hand controls is an example included in the title III
regulation of a step towards barrier removal.  Please see the
regulation at section 36.304 on page 35597 and pages 35568-70 for
further discussion.

     The failure to provide hand controls is considered a barrier
that must be removed if providing hand controls is readily
achievable.  Whether it is readily achievable depends on a host
of factors such as those mentioned in your letter at page two. 
Your main concern appears to be the cost of obtaining and
installing hand controls.  As cited above, expense is one factor
that may properly be weighed in determining whether ACRA's
members must obtain and install hand controls on rental cars. 
The Department has declined to establish any kind of numerical
formula for determining whether an action is readily achievable. 
Instead, the Department has approved a flexible case-by-case
balancing of the listed factors.  Please see the enclosed title
III regulation at section 36.104 on pages 35594 and 35554 for
further discussion.

     The readily achievable standard also addresses legitimate
safety considerations.  To the extent that certain vehicle models
cannot safely be fitted with hand controls, provision of hand
controls on those vehicles is not readily achievable.  However,
for a safety concern to be considered legitimate it must be based
on actual risks and must be necessary for the safe operation of
the services provided.

     Another factor to be considered under the readily achievable
standard is whether or not the customer has provided the rental
car company with adequate notice.  What constitutes adequate
notice will vary depending on factors such as the remoteness of
the location, the availability of trained mechanics, the
availability of hand controls, and the size of the fleet.  For
example, notice of an hour or less may be adequate at a large
city site where it is readily achievable to stock hand controls
and to train mechanics in how to install them properly.  On the
other hand, notice of two days might be inadequate for a small,
rural site where it is not readily achievable to keep hand
controls in stock and where there is only a part-time mechanic
who has been trained in the proper installation of controls. 
These examples should not be construed as hard and fast rules; 
in any given situation, a wide variety of factors must be weighed
to determine whether barrier removal is readily achievable.

     ACRA members should note that the obligation to engage in
readily achievable barrier removal is a continuing one.  Over
time, barrier removal that initially was not readily achievable
may later be required because of changed circumstances.  For
example, a site that has a full-time trained mechanic only during
the summer months may have to shorten the notice period it
requires of its customers during those months.

     I have also enclosed this Department's Title III Technical
Assistance Manual which was written to guide individuals and
entities having rights and obligations under the Act toward a 
fuller understanding of the law.  Pertinent discussion is found
at page two (definition of a place of public accommodation) and
pages 28-32 (readily achievable barrier removal).

     I hope this information is useful to you in understanding
the requirements of the ADA.


                            Sincerely,



                         John L. Wodatch
                              Chief


Enclosures (2)
     Title III Technical Assistance Manual  
     Title III Regulation