WASHINGTON, July 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AAA, America's leading advocate for child passenger safety, and Hertz, the world's largest car rental company, have joined forces to help keep America's youngest passengers safe and secure while traveling.

The campaign, called "Don't Take a Vacation from Your Car Seat," is a first-ever, combined effort to build awareness that parents must put their children in child safety seats and booster seats when they rent a vehicle. Child seats saved 392 lives in 2006 and AAA has been advocating for state laws that increase their usage for more than 20 years.

Regardless of where you travel in the U.S. there are state laws requiring the use of child safety seats. While laws vary from state to state regarding booster seat usage, AAA urges travelers to keep children in car and booster seats until the lap/shoulder safety belts fit them properly, usually around age eight.

"Family travelers want and need to protect their children when they ride in a rented automobile," said Mark H. Brown, Executive Vice President of AAA. He noted a recent AAA-Hertz survey found that 95 percent of parents who travel with a child six years of age or younger reported that their child needed to be in a child safety or booster seat. "Hertz and AAA want to make it easier for parents who may worry about the inconvenience of bringing a child safety seat while travelling."

Renting a safety seat has become increasingly simple because travelers can now reserve a seat when they book through their travel agent or online at http://www.aaa.com/hertz and http://www.hertz.com/. According to the Hertz/AAA survey of parents who travel with young children, of those travelers who rent a child safety seat at their location, 81 percent say they book their seat at the time of reservation.

"The safety of all our customers, including young travelers, is of paramount concern to Hertz," commented Joseph R. Nothwang, President of North America and Pacific Rent A Car for Hertz. "Hertz has been aggressively reengineering itself to be more customer centric and we're pleased to work with AAA to make the use of safety seats while traveling more convenient and less expensive for our customers."

Hertz is AAA's exclusive national car rental partner, and this summer AAA members need only provide the agent with their membership card and they can rent up to two complimentary child safety or booster seats from Hertz.

In addition to the free child safety seats, Hertz and AAA will also be posting more than 3,000 "Don't Take a Vacation from Your Car Seat" posters in AAA's 1,100 travel agency locations and 2,000 Hertz locations in the U.S. and Canada.

SPECIAL NOTE TO MEDIA

To take advantage of this promotion, advance reservations are required using a AAA CDP # and Promotion Code number (PC #) 121623 on rentals picked up through September 30, 2008, subject to availability. Call your local AAA office or visit AAA.com/hertz for complete details.

About AAA

As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 51 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at http://www.aaa.com/.

About Hertz

The Hertz Corporation, a subsidiary of Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. , is the world's largest general use car rental brand, operating from approximately 8,000 locations in 145 countries worldwide. Hertz is the number one airport car rental brand in the U.S. and at 69 major airports in Europe, operating both corporate and licensee locations in cities and airports in North America, Europe, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, the Company has licensee locations in cities and airports in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Product and service initiatives such as Hertz #1 Club Gold(R), NeverLost(R) customized, onboard navigation systems, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and unique cars and SUVs offered through the company's Prestige, Fun and Green Collections, set Hertz apart from the competition. Hertz also operates one of the world's largest equipment rental businesses - Hertz Equipment Rental - offering a diverse line of equipment to customers ranging from major industrial companies to local contractors and consumers through more than 360 branches in the United States, Canada, France and Spain.

To make car rental reservations or for more information, customers can call their travel agent, or call Hertz toll-free at 1-800-654-3131. Information and reservations are also available on the web at http://www.hertz.com/. For information on Hertz Equipment Rental, visit the company on the web at http://www.hertzequip.com/.

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