2001 Acura RL airbag

Protecting Adults

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 stillmaintaining full control of the car.
Also make sure your front seat passenger moves the seat as far tothe 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 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 back and forth to make sure
the seat is locked in position.
See page 94 for how to adjust the
front seats.
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 yousit too close to the steering wheel,
you could be injured if the front airbag inflates.

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Driver and Passenger Safety

Sitting too close to a front
airbag can result in serious injury or death if the front
airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
front airbags as possible.

Protecting Adults

A front passenger should also adjust the seat-back to an upright position,
but as far from the dashboard aspossible. A passenger who sits too
close to the dashboard could be
injured if the front airbag inflates.
Reclining a seat-back so that the
shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant's chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance
of sliding under the belt in a crash
and being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the
greater the risk of injury.
See page 95 for how to adjust seat-

backs.
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
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.

Protecting Adults
6.Adjust the Steering Wheel
Adjust the steering wheel, if needed, so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your face.
Pointing the steering wheel toward
your chest provides optimal protection from the airbag.
See page 71 for how to adjust the

steering wheel.
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, well back in their seats,
with their 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 sideways, or puts one or both feet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased. In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the front seat can be seriously or fatally injured by
striking interior parts of the car, or
by being struck by an inflating front
airbag. Being struck by an inflatingside airbag can result in possibly
serious injuries.

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Driver and Passenger Safety

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.

Protecting Adults
Remember, to get the best
protection from your car's airbags and other safety features, you must
sit properly and wear your seat belt
properly.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. 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.
Driver and Passenger Safety

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 the seat
belt and increase the chance of serious injury in a crash.

Do not place hard or sharp objects between yourself and a front

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 front airbag inflates.

Do not attach or place objects on the front airbag covers. Any object

attached to or placed on the covers
marked "SRS AIRBAG" in the
center of the steering wheel and
on top of the dashboard could
interfere with the proper operation of the airbags. Or, if the airbags
inflate, the objects could be
propelled inside the car and hurt
someone.

Do not attach hard objects on or
near a front door. If a side airbag

inflates, a cup holder or other hard object attached on or near the
door could be propelled inside the
car and hurt someone.

Keep your hands and arms away
from the airbag covers. If your

hands or arms are close to the airbag cover in the center of thesteering wheel or on top of the
dashboard, they could be injured if
the front airbags inflate.

Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children
Children Should Sit in the Back

Seat

According to accident statistics, children of all ages and sizes aresafer 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 the back seat.
In the 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. The Passenger's Front Airbag
Poses Serious Risks to Children
Front airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to severe frontal collision. To do this,
the passenger's front 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 front 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 front 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 front 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

front airbag. Whenever possible,

larger children should sit in the back seat, properly restrained with a seat
belt. (See page 35 for important information about protecting larger
children.)
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Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children

U.S. Models
To remind you of the passenger's front airbag hazards, and thatchildren must be properly restrainedin the back seat, your car 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 front airbag hazards, your car has warning labelson the driver's and front passenger's
visors. Please read and follow the instructions on these labels.
Driver and Passenger Safety CAUTION
TO 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 POURENFANTS 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 Children

If You Must Drive with Several
Children
Your car has three seating positions in the back seat where children can
be properly restrained.
If you ever have to carry more than
three children in your car: Place the largest child in the front
seat, provided the child is large
enough to wear a seat belt
properly (see page 35). 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 17). Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page 15). If a Child Requires Close
Attention
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 seat
exposes the child to hazards from
the passenger's front airbag, and
paying close attention to a child distracts the driver from the
important tasks of driving, placing
both of you at risk.
If a child requires physical attention
or frequent visual contact, westrongly recommend that another
adult ride with the child in the back
seat. The back seat is far safer for a
child than the front. Additional Safety Precautions
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).
Use the main power window
switch to prevent children from

opening the rear windows. Using

this feature will prevent children
from playing with the windows,
which could expose them to hazards or distract the driver (seepage 107).

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Driver and Passenger Safety