2001 HONDA ACCORD COUPE Owners Manual

Protecting Adults

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 88 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 theoccupant's head rests against the
center of the restraint. A taller
person should adjust the restraint as
high as possible. Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants from
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page 92 for how to adjust the
head restraints.
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
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.
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

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.
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.
If the seat belt touches or crosses
your neck, or if it crosses your arm instead of your shoulder, you need to
adjust the seat belt anchor height. To adjust the height of a front seat
belt anchor, squeeze the two release
buttons and slide the anchor up ordown as needed (it has four
positions).
Never place the shoulder portion of alap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back. This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.

CONTINUED

Driver and Passenger Safety

Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.

Protecting Adults
If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the

occupant in a crash. No one should
sit in a seat with an inoperative seat

belt. Anyone using a seat belt that is
not working properly can be seriously injured or killed. Have your
Honda dealer check the belt as soon

as possible.

See page 40 for additional
information about your seat beltsystem and how to take care of your

belts.
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 67 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.
Driver and Passenger Safety

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 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.

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

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.
On models with side airbags, 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 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 car, be sure to
read this section.
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
24.)

A larger child should always be
restrained with a seat belt. (See page
34.)

Driver and Passenger Safety

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.

Protecting Children

Additional Precautions to Parents Never hold an infant or child on

your lap. If you are not wearing a seat belt in a crash, you could be
thrown forward into the dashboard and crush the child.
If you are wearing a seat belt, the
child can be torn from your armsduring a crash. For example, if
your car crashes into a parked
vehicle at 30 mph (48 km/h), a 20-lb (9 kg) infant will become a600-lb (275 kg) force, and you will
not be able to hold on.

Never put a seat belt over yourself
and an infant or child. During a

crash, the belt could press deep
into the child and cause very
serious injuries.
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 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 ChildrenFront 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 inthe 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.

Driver and Passenger Safety

Protecting Children

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 orvery 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 34 for important information about protecting larger
children.)
U.S. Models

To remind you of the passenger's front airbag hazards, and thatchildren must be properly restrained
in 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.

Driver and Passenger Safety