2002 HONDA PASSPORT Owners Manual

14Driver and Passenger Safety
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 seat belt
anchor in the front or the rear,
press the release button and slide
the anchor up or down as needed
(it has four positions).
Never place the shoulder portion
of a lap/shoulder belt under your
arm or behind your back.
This
could cause very serious injuries
in a crash. Using the Lap Belt
Insert the latch plate into the
buckle marked
CENTER.
If the belt is too short, hold the
latch plate at a right angle and
pull on the plate to extend the
belt. Then insert the latch plate

15Driver and Passenger Safety
into the buckle, and tug on the
belt to make sure the belt is
securely latched.
Position the belt as low as
possible across your hips. This
lets your strong pelvic bones take
the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.
Pull on the loose end of the belt
for a snug but comfortable fit.
If a Seat Belt Doesn’t Work
Properly
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 41 for additional
information about your seat belt
system 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 115 for how to adjust the
steering wheel.

16Driver and Passenger Safety
7. Maintain a Proper SittingPosition
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 vehicle 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 vehicle, or by being struck by an
inflating airbag.
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.
Remember, to get the best
protection from your vehicle
’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

17Driver and Passenger Safety
always wear a seat belt whenever
she drives or rides in a vehicle.
We recommend that a pregnant
woman use a lap/shoulder belt
whenever possible. Remember to
keep the lap portion of the belt as
low as possible across your hips.
Pregnant women should also sit 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 checkup,
ask your doctor if it’
s okay for
you to drive.
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
an 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 airbags
inflate.
•Keep your hands and arms
away from the airbag covers.
If your hands or arms are close
to the SRS covers in the center
of the steering wheel or on top
of the dashboard, they could be
injured if the airbags inflate.
•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.
•Do not attach or place objects
on the 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.

Driver and Passenger Safety18
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.
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 properly
restrained in a child seat. A
larger child should be properly
restrained with a seat belt.
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
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 22.)
A larger child should always be
restrained with a seat belt. (See
page 34.)
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.
Protecting Children

Driver and Passenger Safety19
If you are wearing a seat belt,
the child can be torn from your
arms. For example, if your
vehicle crashes into a parked
vehicle at 30 mph (48 km/h), a
20 lb (9 kg) infant will become
a 600 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
recommends 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 Airbag
Poses Serious Risks to
Children
Airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate
to severe 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.

Driver and Passenger Safety20
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 the back
seat, properly restrained with a
seat belt. (See page 34 for
important information about
protecting larger children.) To remind you of the passenger
’s
airbag hazards, and that children
must be properly restrained in the
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.If You Must Drive With
Several Children
Your vehicle 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
vehicle:
•Place the largest child in the
front seat, provided the child is
large enough to wear a seat belt
properly (see page 34).
•Move the vehicle seat as far to
the rear as possible (see page
10).
•Have the child sit upright and
well back in the seat (see page
16).
•Make sure the seat belt is
properly positioned and
secured (see page 13).

Driver and Passenger Safety 21
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 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, we strongly 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 child-safe 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 105).
•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
(see page 107).
•Do not leave children alone in
your vehicle. Leaving children
without adult supervision is
illegal in most states and can be
very hazardous. For example,
infants and small children left
in a vehicle on a hot day can
die from heat stroke. And
children left alone with the key
in the ignition can accidentally
set the vehicle in motion,
possibly injuring themselves or
others.
•Keep vehicle keys and remote
transmitters out of the reach
of children. Even very young
children learn how to unlock
vehicle doors, turn on the
ignition, and open the tailgate,
which can lead to accidental
injury or death.