[ScottBurson]

f you don't assign the risk to the owner of the dangerous instrumentality, then you assign it to either the operator or the general public.

Except that in this case there's another party: RelayRides, the rental management company. I think their own actions indicate an awareness that they will have to foot the bill for this... not just because Ms. Fong-Jones could probably recover her own costs, if any, in court, but also because the survival of their business depends on it.