PHOTO: As a travel agent, you can make renting a family car a less-frazzled experience.

Ah, the family road trip.

There’s nothing quite like it, and we say that with a decided mixture of fond remembrance and great memories of family bonding time mixed with the inevitable nightmares of “He hit me again!” and, wait for it… “Are we there yet?”

At some point, every family of every size goes on vacation, whether it’s to visit other family, to go to Disney World, to see the Grand Canyon or whatever. It’s one of the biggest and most burgeoning parts of the travel industry. According to a 2014 TripAdvisor survey, 92 percent of travelers said they take their family on vacation, up 7 percent from the previous year — and more than half of them said they would do it by hitting the road.

By the same token, USA Today reported that another recent survey conducted by MasterCard found that 89 percent of families were “frazzled by the amount of time and effort required for planning a successful trip.”

As a travel agent, you can make renting a family car a less-frazzled experience.

Here are a few points to consider:

Is there a baby on board?

Traveling with an infant is not an impediment but there are challenges, and this is where an agent can really shine. If a family with children doesn’t tell the agent right away the ages of the kids, it should be an immediate question. There should be no surprises or difficulties when arriving at a destination to pick up their rental car.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, children up to one year old or up to 20-22 pounds should be in a rear-facing infant-only seat.

Children ages 1 to 3, or from 20 to 40 pounds, should be in a rear-facing car seat until the top height and weight limit allowed by the manufacturer is exceeded.

Children ages 4 to 7, or until four-feet, nine-inches tall, should be in a forward-facing car seat until the top height and weight limit allowed by the manufacturer is exceeded.

Children ages 8 to 12, or at least over four-feet, nine-inches, should be in a booster seat with lap and shoulder belts until the top height and weight limit allowed by the manufacturer is exceeded.

All children, 12 years old and younger, should always be buckled up in the back. Also, never place a child restraint in a seating position with an active airbag.

According to Avis, many states are strengthening their child restraint laws. The toughest is New Jersey, which now requires children 7 years and younger and less than 80 pounds to be in a child-restraint seat. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that less than 10 percent of all children who should be using boosters are properly restrained.

Ask About Child Seats

Although parents of infants and toddlers are probably well trained in installing a car seat, they might not be as familiar with a model different from their own if they don’t bring a child restraint seat from home. Again, a good agent will ask these questions of car rental companies. Using Avis as an example again, the company happens to use Evenflo car seats, but its managers have been trained to properly install the seats using LATCH. In addition, the car rental giant notes that all Avis locations stock foam levelers to help ensure that seats are installed securely.

Tell Clients About Procedures

Some families are accustomed to taking their own car on vacation or might not have ever rented. Be sure they understand all the ramifications that come with renting a car. According to familyvacationcritic.com, these include:

Fuel Charges — Make sure they document where the fuel gauge is when they receive the rental. Usually the tank is full; if it isn’t, make sure the family knows that and fills it to the level at which the rental was received. If not, well, you know the drill — filling up at the car rental site can be double the cost of getting gas before your clients return the car.

Fees — Everybody knows what happens when you are late returning your car. But do your clients know that some car rental companies charge an early return fee? Be prepared to tell families they should notify the rental site if they plan on returning the car early, just as a precaution.

Usually this is just a formality; most car rental companies will appreciate you bringing the car back a few hours early. Some, however, are becoming like the airlines with their ancillary fees.

Age Restrictions — Are your clients young parents? If they are under the age of 25, check to see if it costs more for them to rent a car. Many car companies have dropped the old rule that you had to be at least 25 to even rent a car, but nonetheless younger drivers are more prone to get into accidents and there may be another fee attached to the rental for those younger than 25.

Driving in Foreign Destinations

Another word of caution to pass on to your clients regards driving in foreign countries. In some countries, especially in Europe, an American driver’s license will suffice. That is the case in England and Ireland. In Italy, Spain, Germany and other parts of Europe — and the world for that matter — they’re going to need an International Driving Permit. That’s something a good travel agent will check with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Of course, that sounds more daunting than it actually is. The International Driving Permit, or IDP, is really more of an accompaniment to a regular driver’s license. It looks like a passport with your photo ID attached, but it contains information from a driver’s license translated into 10 different languages, good in more than 150 countries around the world. DO be sure to tell clients to bring their driver’s license as well, however.

The IDP is easily obtainable. The American Automobile Association (AAA) and National Auto Club both offer applications for an IDP and, like a passport, the applicant must provide certain information and two passport-style pictures. You must be 18 or older to apply for the IDP.

Selecting A Suitable Car Type

Last, but certainly not least, is what kind of car to rent for a family? As much as mom and dad dream about taking that ocean-side drive from the bottom of Oahu to the North Shore and then back down through the lush green scenery in a red Camaro convertible, it’s clearly not practical with two or three kids in tow.

The questions here for agents revolve around logistics. Is the family just using the car in, say, Orlando to get back and forth from the airport to the theme parks, or from the hotel to the theme parks, or to get off property to get a bite to eat?

Perhaps a regular economy or mid-size car might suffice for a family with three children who are willing to all sit in the back seat for 20 minutes on short trips — assuming all the luggage fits in the trunk when traveling to and from the airport.

Obviously, those types of cars are in abundance at car rental locations.

SUVs and minivans? Not as much. So clearly a reservation should be made well ahead of time, especially in the summer, when many families are traveling and certainly to the most popular destinations.

For families needing to be in a car for a while, comfort is most important. According to Bankrate.com, the most popular of all minivans is the Dodge Grand Caravan, offered by Hertz, Enterprise and Avis.

“It’s tough to beat when you need to carry several passengers and their luggage,” the website notes. “You won’t find a lot of bells and whistles on Grand Caravan rentals, but all will have second-row, as well as third-row seats that easily fold flat into the floor, remote keyless entry and seven air bags.”

If your clients do need bells and whistles, however, be sure to check with the car rental companies. On long rides, some parents may prefer an SUV or minivan with a DVD player.