2000 HONDA ODYSSEY rear

Your Vehicle's Safety Features

(1) Safety Cage

(2) Crush Zones

(3

) Seats & Seat-Backs

(4) Head Restraints

(5)
Collapsible Steering Column

(6) Seat Belts

(7)

Airbags

(8)

Seat Belt Tensioners

(9)

Door Locks
Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to protect

you and your passengers
during a crash.
Some safety features do not require
any action on your part. These
include

a strong steel framework
that

forms a safety cage around the
passenger
compartment; front and
rear crush zones that are designed to
crumple and absorb energy during a
crash;

a collapsible steering column;
and seat belt tensioners that
automatically tighten the front seat belts in the event of a crash.
These safety features are designed to reduce the severity of injuries in acrash.

However, you and your
passengers

can't take full advantage
of these safety features unless you
remain

sitting in a proper position

and always wear your seat belts

properly. I
n fact, some safety
features can contribute to injuries if they

are not used properly.

Driver and Passenger Safety

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

Protecting Adult s
To reduce the chance of injury, wear
your seat belt properly, sit upright
with your back against the seat, andmove the seat as far back as possible
from the steering wheel while stillmaintaining full control of the
vehicle. Also make sure your front seat passenger moves the seat as far
to the rear as possible. Most shorter drivers can get far
enough away from the steering
wheel and still reach the pedals. However, if you are concerned aboutsitting too close, we recommend that
you investigate whether some type of adaptive equipment may help.
Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and forth to make sure
the seat is locked in position.
See page 100 for how to adjust the
front seats. 3.Adjus
t th e Seat-Back s
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.
CONTINUED
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
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.

Protecting Childre n
Children Shoul d Si t i n th e Bac k
Seat
According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes ar e
safer when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the front seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport Canada recommend that all children
ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in a back seat.
In a back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard interior parts during a collision or
hard braking. Also, children cannot
be injured by an inflating airbag
when they ride in the back.
Th e Passenger' s Airba g Pose s
Seriou s Risk s t o Childre n
Airbags have been designed to help protect adults in a moderate tosevere 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
with enough force to kill or very seriously injure a small child.
Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child
seats are also at risk of being injured or killed by an inflating passenger's
airbag. Whenever possible, larger
children should sit in a back seat,
properly restrained with a seat belt. (See page 39 for important
information about protecting larger children.)
CONTINUED
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Childre n
U.S. Models
To remind you of the passenger's
airbag hazards, and that children
must be properly restrained in a
back seat, your vehicle has warning
labels on the dashboard and on the driver's and front passenger's visors.
Please read and follow the
instructions on these labels.
Canadian Models
To remind you of the airbag hazards,your vehicle has warning labels onthe driver's and front passenger's
visors. Please read and follow the instructions on these labels.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
CAUTIO NTO AVOID SERIOUS INJURY:FOR MAXIMUM SAFETY PROTECTION IN
ALL TYPES OF CRASHES, YOU MUST
ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SAFETY BELT. DO NOT INSTALL REARWARD-FACING
CHILD SEATS IN ANY FRONT PASSENGER SEAT POSITION.
DO NOT SIT OR LEAN UNNECESSARILY
CLOSE TO THE AIR BAG. DO NOT PLACE ANY OBJECTS OVER THE
AIR BAG OR BETWEEN THE AIR BAG
AND YOURSELF. SEE THE OWNER'S MANUAL FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION AND EXPLANATIONS.
PRECAUTION :POUR EVITER DES BLESSURES GRAVES:POUR PROFITER D'UNE PROTECTION
MAXIMALE LORS D'UNE COLLISION BOUCLEZ
TOUJOURS VOTRE CEINTURE DE SECURITE. N'lNSTALLEZ JAMAIS UN SIEGE POUR
ENFANTS FAISANT FACE A L'ARRIERE SUR
LE SIEGE DU PASSAGER AVANT.
NE VOUS APPUYEZ PAS ET NE VOUS ASSEYEZ PAS PRES DU COUSSIN GONFLABLE.
NE DEPOSEZ AUCUN OBJET SUR LE COUSSIN
GONFLABLE OU ENTRE LE COUSSIN
GONFLABLE ET VOUS.
LISEZ LE GUIDE UTILISATEUR POUR DE
PLUS AMPLES RENSEIGNEMENTS.

Protecting Childre n
If Yo u Mus t Driv e wit h Severa l
Childre n
Your vehicle has two rows of back
seats where children can be properly
restrained.
If you ever have to carry a group ofchildren (when carpooling for
example), and a child must ride in
front:
Place the largest child in the frontseat, provided the child is large
enough to wear a seat belt
properly (see page 39).
Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page 12). Have the child sit upright and well
back in the seat (see page 19).
Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page
15). I
f a Chil d Require s Clos e
Attentio n
Many parents say they prefer to put
an infant or small child in the front
passenger seat so they can watch the child, or because the child requires
attention.
Placing a child in the front seatexposes the child to hazards from
the airbag, and paying close attention to a child distracts thedriver from the important tasks of
driving, placing both of you at risk.
If a child requires physical attention or frequent visual contact, we
strongly recommend that another
adult ride with the child in a back
seat. The back seat is far safer for a
child than the front. Additiona
l Safet y Precaution s
Use childproof door locks to
prevent children from opening the
doors. Using this feature will
prevent children from opening the doors and accidentally falling out (see page 85).
Do not leave children alone in your
vehicle. Leaving children without
adult supervision is illegal in most
states and Canadian provinces,
and can be very hazardous. For
example, infants and small
children left in a vehicle on a hot
day can die from heatstroke. And
children left alone with the key in
the ignition can accidentally set
the vehicle in motion, possibly
injuring themselves or others.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protecting Childre n
General Guideline s fo r Usin g
Chil d Seat s
The following pages give general guidelines for selecting and installing
child seats for infants and smallchildren.
Selecting a Child Seat
To provide proper protection, a child seat should meet three
requirements:
1. The child seat should meet safety
standards. The child seat should
meet Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 213 (FMVSS 213) or Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 213 (CMVSS 213). Look
for the manufacturer's statement of compliance on the box and seat.
2. The child seat should be of the
proper type and size to fit the child.
Infants: Children up to about one
year old should be restrained in a rear-facing, reclining child seat. Onlya rear-facing seat provides the
proper support to protect an infant's
head, neck, and back. See page 30 for additional information on
protecting infants. Small Children: A child who is too
large for a rear-facing child seat, and
who can sit up without support, should be restrained in a forward-
facing child seat. See page 35 for additional information on protecting
small children.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y