2002 HONDA PASSPORT Owners Manual

6Driver and Passenger Safety
some safety features can
contribute to injuries if they are
not used properly.
Seat Belts
For your safety, and the safety of
your passengers, your vehicle is
equipped with seat belts in all
seating positions.
Your seat belt system
also includes 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 most
effective 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
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.
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.
When properly worn, seat belts:
•Keep you connected to the
vehicle so 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. In a rollover crash,
an unbelted person is more
likely to die than a person
wearing a seat belt. 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.

7Driver and Passenger Safety
•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.Airbags
Your vehicle has a Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) with
frontal airbags to help protect the
driver and a 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 seat belts are the
occupants’ primary protection
in all types of collisions. The
airbags supplement the seat
belts by providing extra
protection for the head and
chest of 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

8Driver and Passenger Safety
only during a moderate to
severe frontal collision.
•Airbags can pose serious
hazards.
To do 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.
Seats and Seat-Backs
Your vehicle’ s seats are designed
to keep you in a comfortable,
upright position so you can take
full advantage of the protection
offered by seat belts and the
energy-absorbing materials in the
seats.
How you adjust your seats and
seat-backs can also affect your
safety. For example, sitting too
close to the steering wheel or
dashboard increases the risk of
you or your passenger being
injured by striking the inside of
the vehicle, or by an inflating
airbag. Reclining a seat-back too far
reduces the seat belt
’s
effectiveness and increases the
chance that the seat’ s occupant
will slide under the seat belt in a
crash and be seriously injured.
What you should do: Move the
front seats as far back as possible,
and keep adjustable seat-backs in
an upright position whenever the
vehicle is moving.
Head Restraints
Head restraints can help protect
you from whiplash and other
injuries. For maximum protection,
the back of your head should rest
against the center of the head
restraint.

belts and wearing them
properly (see page 13).
9Driver and Passenger Safety
Door Locks
Keeping your doors locked
reduces the chance of being
thrown out of the vehicle during
a crash. It also helps prevent
occupants from accidentally
opening a door and falling out,
and outsiders from unexpectedly
opening your doors.
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
•Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child
seat in the back seat (see page
18).
•Front seat occupants are sitting
upright and as far back as
possible from the steering
wheel and dashboard (see page
10).
•Seat-backs are upright (see
page 11).
•Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 12).
•All doors and the tailgate are
closed and locked (see page
10).
•All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 175). 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.

10Driver and Passenger Safety
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 34
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 and
tailgate are closed and locked.
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 104 for how to lock the
doors.
2. Adjust the Front Seats
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 the inflating
airbag during a crash.
Protecting Adults

See pages 91 and 92 for how to
adjust the front seats.
11Driver and Passenger Safety
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 vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration and
Transport Canada recommend that
drivers adjust the seat so the
center of the chest is at least 10
inches away from the center of the
steering wheel. Also make sure
your front seat passenger moves
the seat as far to the rear as
possible.
Sitting too close to the 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 back and forth to
make sure the seat is locked in
position.
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.
A front passenger should also
adjust the seat-back to an upright
position, but as far from the

12Driver and Passenger Safety
dashboard as possible. A
passenger who sits too close to the
dashboard could be injured if the
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.
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 pages 92 and 93 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.

13Driver 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.
Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants from
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page 93 for how to adjust the
head restraints.
5. Fasten and Position theSeat Belts
Using a Lap/Shoulder Belt
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.
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.
Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.