unexpectedly opening your doors.
Your Vehicle's Safety Features
Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 13).
Both doors are closed and locked
(see page 10).
All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 128).
The rest of this section gives more
detailed information about how you
can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no safety
system can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
Pre-Drive Safety Checklist
To make sure you and your
passengers get the maximum
protection from your vehicle's safety
features, check the following each
time before you drive away:
All adults, and children who have
outgrown child safety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and
wearing them properly (see page
14).
Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat
in the back seat (see page 19).
Front seat occupants are sitting as
far back as possible from the
steering wheel and dashboard
(see page 11).
Seat-backs are upright (see page
12).
Driver and Passenger Safety
Main MenuTable of ContentsstProtecting Adults
Introduction
The following pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver and other adult
occupants.
These instructions also apply to
children who have outgrown child
seats and are large enough to wear
lap/shoulder belts. (See page 35 for
important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect larger
children.)
1. Close and Lock the Doors
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.
Your vehicle has a door
monitor light on the
instrument panel to indicate when a
specific door is not tightly closed.
For safety, locking the doors reduces
the chance of a passenger, especially
a child, opening a door while the
vehicle is moving and accidentally
falling out. It also reduces the
chance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash.
For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider from
unexpectedly opening a door when
you come to a stop.
See page 72 for how to lock the
doors.
Driver and Passenger Safety
Main MenuTable of Contentsst2. Adjust the Front Seats
To reduce the chance of injury, wear
your seat belt properly, sit upright
with your back against the seat, and
move the seat as far back as possible
from the steering wheel while still
maintaining full control of the car.
Also make sure your front seat
passenger moves their seat as far to
the rear as possible.
Any driver who sits too close to the
steering wheel is at risk of being
seriously injured or killed by striking
the steering wheel or being struck
by an inflating airbag during a crash.
Protecting Adults
Sitting too close to an airbag
can result in serious injury or
death if the airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
airbags as possible.
Most shorter drivers can get far
enough away from the steering
wheel and still reach the pedals.
However, if you are concerned about
sitting too close, we recommend that
you investigate whether some type
of adaptive equipment may help.
Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it forward and back to make
sure the seat is locked in position.
See page 75 for how to adjust the
front seats.
Driver and Passenger Safety
Main MenuTable of ContentsstA front passenger should also adjust
the seat-back to an upright position,
as far from the dashboard as
possible. If the passenger sits too
close to the dashboard, they could be
injured if the airbag inflates.
Reclining a seat-back so that the
shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against an occupant's chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance
of sliding under the belt and being
seriously injured in a crash. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the
greater the risk of injury.
Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjust the seat-back to an
upright position and sit well
back in the seat.
See page 75 for how to adjust seat-
backs.
Protecting Adults
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs
Adjust the driver's seat-back to a
comfortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between your
chest and the airbag cover in the
center of the steering wheel. If you
sit too close to the steering wheel,
you could be injured if the airbag
inflates.
Driver and Passenger Safety
Main MenuTable of ContentsstProtecting Adults
Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect you from whiplash
and other crash injuries.
See page 77 for how to adjust the
head restraints.
Improperly positioning head
restraints reduces their
effectiveness and you can be
seriously injured in a crash.
Make sure head restraints are
in place and positioned properly
before driving.
4. Adjust the Head Restraints
Before driving, make sure everyone
with an adjustable head restraint has
properly positioned the head
restraint. The restraint should be
positioned so the back of the
occupant's head rests against the
center of the restraint. A taller
person should adjust the restraint as
high as possible.
Driver and Passenger Safety
Main MenuTable of ContentsstProtecting Adults
5. Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts
Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Also check
that the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
Driver and Passenger Safety
If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove any slack from the
shoulder part, then check that the
belt rests across the center of your
chest and over your shoulder. This
spreads the forces of a crash over
the strongest bones in your upper
body.
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.
Never place the shoulder portion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm or
behind your back. This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips,
then pull up on the shoulder part of
the belt so the lap part fits snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones
take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.
Main MenuTable of ContentsstProtecting Adults
See page 40 for additional
information about your seat belt
system and how to take care of your
belts.
6. Adjust the Steering Wheel
If your seat belt does not seem to
work as it should, it may not protect
you in a crash. Anyone using an
inoperative seat belt can be seriously
injured or killed. No one should sit in
a seat with an inoperative seat belt.
Have your Honda dealer check the
belt as soon as possible.
Adjust the steering wheel, if needed,
so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your face.
Pointing the steering wheel toward
your face decreases the protective
capability of the driver's airbag.
See page 64 for how to adjust the
steering wheel.
Driver and Passenger Safety
Main MenuTable of ContentsstIn addition, if an occupant is out of
position in the front seat, they can be
seriously or fatally injured by
striking interior parts of the vehicle,
or by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the
floor.
Remember, to get the best
protection from your vehicle's
airbags and other safety features,
you must sit properly and wear your
seat belt properly.
Protecting Adults
7. Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and put on seat belts, it is
very important that they continue to
sit upright, with their bodies well
back in their seats and both feet on
the floor, until the car is parked and
the engine is off.
Sitting improperly can increase the
chance of injury during a crash. For
example, if an occupant slouches,
lies down, turns sideways, sits
forward, leans forward, or puts one
or both feet up, their chance of
injury during a crash is greatly
increased.
Driver and Passenger Safety
Main MenuTable of ContentsstPregnant women should also sit as
far back as possible from the
steering wheel or dashboard. This
will reduce the risk of injuries to
both the mother and her unborn
child that can be caused by a crash
or an inflating airbag.
Each time you have a checkup, ask
your doctor if it's okay for you to
drive.
Protecting Adults
Additional Safety Precautions
Two people should never use the
same seat belt. If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
Do not put any accessories on seat
belts. Devices intended to improve
occupant comfort, or reposition
the shoulder part of a seat belt,
can severely compromise the
protective capability of seat belts
and increase the chance of serious
injury in a crash.
Advice for Pregnant Women
Because protecting the mother is the
best way to protect her unborn child,
a pregnant woman should always
wear a seat belt whenever she drives
or rides in a car.
Remember to keep the lap portion of
the belt as low as possible across
your hips.
CONTINUED
Driver and Passenger Safety
Main MenuTable of ContentsstProtecting Adults
Do not place hard or sharp objects
between yourself and an airbag.
Carrying hard or sharp objects on
your lap, or driving with a pipe or
other sharp object in your mouth,
can result in injuries if your
airbags inflate.
Keep your hands and arms away
from the airbag covers. If your
hands or arms are close to the SRS
covers in the center of the
steering wheel and on top of the
dashboard, they could be injured if
the airbags inflate.
Driver and Passenger Safety
Main MenuTable of ContentsstChildren who are unrestrained
or improperly restrained can be
seriously injured or killed in a
crash.
Any child too small for a seat
belt should be properly
restrained in a child seat.
Larger children should be
properly restrained with a seat
belt.
Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best
intentions, many parents and other
adults do not know how to properly
protect young passengers.
So if you have children, or if you ever
need to drive with a grandchild or
other children in your vehicle, be
sure to read this section.
Protecting Children
All Children Must Be Restrained
Each year, many children are injured
or killed in vehicle crashes because
they are either unrestrained or not
properly restrained. In fact, vehicle
accidents are the number one cause
of death of children ages 12 and
under.
To reduce the number of child
deaths and injuries, every state and
Canadian province requires that
infants and children be restrained
whenever they ride in a vehicle.
Any child who is too small to wear a
seat belt should be properly
restrained in a child seat. (See page
23.)
Larger children should always be
restrained with a seat belt. (See page
35.)
Driver and Passenger Safety
Main MenuTable of ContentsstProtecting Children
Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat
According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are
safer when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the front seat. The
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration recommends that all
children ages 12 and under ride in
the back seat, properly restrained.
In the back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard
interior vehicle parts during a
collision or hard braking. Also,
children cannot be injured by an
inflating airbag when they ride in the
back.
Driver and Passenger Safety
The Passenger's Airbag Poses
Serious Risks to Children
Airbags have been designed to help
protect adults in a severe frontal
collision. To do this, the passenger's
airbag is quite large, and it inflates
with tremendous speed.
Infants
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's airbag. If the
airbag inflates, it can hit the back of
the child seat with enough force to
kill or very seriously injure an infant.
Small Children
Placing a forward-facing child seat in
the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's airbag can be
hazardous. If the vehicle seat is too
far forward, or the child's head is
thrown forward during a collision, an
inflating airbag can strike the child