2000 HONDA ODYSSEY child seat

Driver an d Passenge r Safet y

This sectio
n gives you important

information about how to protect

yourself and your passengers. It
shows you how to use seat belts
properly. It explains your Supple-
mental Restraint System. And it tells

you how to properly restrain infants
and children in your vehicle.

Important Safety Precautions ..........

6

Your Vehicle'
s Safety Features........

7

Seat
Belts.......................................
.

8

Airbags............................................
9

Seat
s & Seat-Backs......................

10

Head
Restraints..........................
. 10

Door Locks................................... 10
Pre-Drive Safety Checklist......... 11

Protecting Adults............................. 12

1. Close and Lock the Doors...... 12
2. Adjust the Front Seats............ 12 3. Adjust the Seat-Backs............. 13
4. Adjust the Head Restraints.... 14 5. Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts...................................... 15

6. Adjust the Steering Wheel.....

19

7. Maintai
n a Proper Sitting

Position................................. 19
Advice for Pregnant Women...... 20
Additional Safety Precautions.... 20
Protecting Children......................... 22 All Children Must Be
Restrained................................ 22
Children Should Sit in the Back
Seat............................................ 23

The Passenger's Airbag Poses Serious Risks to Children....... 23
If You Must Drive with Several Children.................................... 25
If a Child Requires Close Attention................................... 25 Additional Safety Precautions.... 25
General Guidelines for Using Child Seats................................ 26
Protecting Infants........................ 30
Protecting Small Children.......... 35
Protecting Larger Children........ 39
Using Child Seats with Tethers......................................

43

Additional Informatio
n About Your
Seat Belts.................................. 45
Seat Belt System Components... 45
Lap/Shoulder Belt....................... 45
Seat Belt Maintenance................ 47
Additional Information About Your
SRS............................................
48

SRS Components........................
.
48

How
You
r Airbags Work............ 48

How the Automatic Seat Belt
Tensioners Work..................... 50

How the SRS Indicator Light
Works........................................ 50

SRS Service...................................
51

Additional Safet
y Precautions.... 52

Carbon Monoxide Hazard.............. 53

Safety Labels.................................... 54

Driver an d Passenge r Safet y

Important Safet y Precaution s
You'll find many safety
recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
The recommendations on this page are the ones we consider to be themost important.
Alway s Wea r You r Sea t Bel t
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of collisions. Airbagssupplement seat belts, but airbags
are designed to inflate only in a
moderate to severe frontal collision.
So even though your vehicle is
equipped with airbags, make sure
you and your passengers always
wear your seat belts, and wear them properly. (See page 15.)
Restrai n Al l Childre n
Children are safest when they are
properly restrained in a back seat,
not the front seat. A child who is too small for a seat belt must be properly
restrained in a child safety seat. (See
page 22.) B
e Awar e o f Airba g Hazard s
While airbags can save lives, they can cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to them,
or are not properly restrained.
Infants, young children, and short adults are at the greatest risk. Be
sure to follow all instructions and
warnings in this manual. (See page 9.)
Don' t Drin k an d Driv e
Alcohol and driving don't mix. Even
one drink can reduce your ability to
respond to changing conditions, and
your reaction time gets worse with every additional drink. So don't drink
and drive, and don't let your friends
drink and drive, either. Contro
l You r Spee d
Excessive speed is a major factor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed the greater the
risk, but serious accidents can also occur at lower speeds. Never drive
faster than is safe for current conditions, regardless of the
maximum speed posted.
Kee p You r Vehicl e i n Saf e
Conditio n
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical failure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibility of such problems, check your tire
pressures and condition frequently, and perform all regularly scheduled
maintenance. (See page 230.)
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Your Vehicle' s Safet y Feature s
Seat Belt s
For your safety, and the safety of
your passengers, your vehicle is equipped with seat belts in all seating
positions.
Your seat belt system alsoincludes a light on the
instrument panel to remind you and
your passengers to fasten your seat belts.
Why Wear Seat Belts
Seat belts are the single mosteffective safety device for adults and
larger children. (Infants and smaller
children must be properly restrained
in child seats.)
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags. In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.
When properly worn, seat belts: Keep you connected to the vehicleso you can take advantage of the
vehicle's built-in safety features.
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including side and
rear impacts and rollovers. (Your
airbag can only be helpful in a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.)
Help keep you from being thrown against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
Keep you from being thrown out
of the vehicle.
Help keep you in a good position should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of injury from an inflating airbag, and
allows you to get the best
advantage from the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash. But in most cases, seat belts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.
What you should do: Always wear
your seat belt, and make sure you wear it properly.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
if you have airbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.

You
r Vehicle' s Safet y Feature s

Airbag s
Your vehicle has a Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) with frontal
airbags to help protect the driver anda front seat passenger.
This system also includes an indicator light on the instrument
panel to alert you to a possible
problem with the system. The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:Airbags do not replace seat belts.
The sea
t belts are the occupants'
primary protection in all Lypes of
collisions. The airbags supplement
the seat belts by providing extra protection for the head and chestof each front seat occupant in a
moderate to severe frontal
collision.

Airbags offer no protection in side
impacts, rear impacts, rollovers,
or minor collisions. Airbags are

designed to deploy only during a moderate to severe frontal

collision.

Airbags can pose serious hazards.
To d
o their job, airbags must
inflate with tremendous force and speed. So while airbags save lives,
they can cause serious injuries to
adults and larger children who are not wearing seat belts, are not
wearing them properly, are sitting
too close to the airbag, or are not
sitting in a proper position. Infants
and small children are at an even
greater risk of injury or death.

What you should do: Always wear

your seat belt properly, and sit upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or
dashboard.

Driver an d Passenge r Safet y

You
r Vehicle' s Safet y Feature s

Pre-Driv e Safet y Checklis t
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 15).
Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat

in a back seat (see page 22). Front seat occupants are sitting
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel and dashboard (see page 12). Seat-backs are upright (see page
13). Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 14). All doors and the tailgate are
closed and locked (see page 12). All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 197).
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.

Driver an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Adult s
Introductio n
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 39 for important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect larger
children.) 1
. Clos e an d Loc k th e Door s
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and tailgate are closed and locked.
Your vehicle has a door and tailgate monitor light on the instrument
panel to indicate when a specific door or the tailgate is not tightly
closed.
For safety, locking the doors reduces
the chance that a passenger, especially a child, will open a door
while the vehicle is moving and accidentally fall 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 79 for how to lock the
doors. 2.Adjus
t th e Fron t Seat s
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 from being struck by an inflating airbag during a
crash.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Adult s
Advice fo r Pregnan t Wome n
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 vehicle.
Remember to keep the lap portion of
the belt as low as possible across
your hips. Pregnant women should also sit
upright and 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 check-up, ask
your doctor if it's okay for you to drive.Additiona l Safet y Precaution s
Never let passengers ride in the
cargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat. All passengers
must sit in locked, upright seats
and be properly restrained by seat
belts.
Passengers should not stand up or
change seats while the vehicle is
moving. A passenger who is not
wearing a seat belt during a crash or emergency stop can be thrown
against the inside of the vehicle,
against other occupants, or out of
the vehicle.
Two people should never use the
same seat belt. If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Childre n
Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best intentions, many parents and other
adults may 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. Al
l Childre n Mus t B e Restraine d
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 andCanadian 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
26.)
A larger child should always be restrained with a seat belt. (See page 39.)
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
Children 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 properlyrestrained in a child seat. A
larger child should be properlyrestrained with a seat belt.