2003 HONDA ACCORD seats

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Your car is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during a crash.
Some saf ety f eatures do not require
anyactiononyourpart.These
include a strong steel f ramework
that forms a safety cage around the
passenger compartment; f ront 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.
CONT INUED
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
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(1)
(2)
(2)
(3) (4)
(5)(6)
(7)
(8)
(7) (10)
(11)
(9)
(6) Seat Belts
(7) Front Airbags
(8) Side Airbags
(9) Side Curtain Airbags
(10) Door Locks
(11) Seat Belt Tensioners
If equipped
: (1) Safety Cage
(2) Crush Zones
(3) Seats and Seat-Backs
(4) Head Restraints
(5) Collapsible Steering Column
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In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.
When properly worn, seat belts:Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers.
Foryoursafety,andthesafetyof
your passengers, your car is
equipped with seat belts in all seating
positions.
Seat belts are the single most
effectivesafetydeviceforadultsand
larger children. (Inf ants 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 car has airbags.
Your seat belt system also
includes a light on the
instrument panel to remind you and
your passengers to f asten your seat
belts.
These saf ety f eatures are designed
to reduce the severity of injuries in a
crash. However, you and your
passengers can’t take f ull advantage
of these saf ety f eatures unless you
remain sitting in a proper position
and
In f act, some saf ety
f eatures can contribute to injuries if
they are not used properly.
Keep you connected to the car so
you can take advantage of the car’s
built-in saf ety f eatures.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
always wear your seat belts
properly.
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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.
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Your car’s seats are designed to keep
you in a comf ortable, upright
position so you can take f ull
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
theinsideof thecar,orbyan
inf lating airbag.
Reclining a seat-back too f ar reduces
the seat belt’s ef f ectiveness and
increases the chance that the seat’s
occupant will slide under the seat
belt in a crash and be seriously
injured.
Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel or
dashboard. They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
To do their job, airbags must
inf late with tremendous f orce and
speed. So while airbags help save
lives, they can cause minor injuries,
or more serious or even fatal
injuries if occupants are not
properly restrained or sitting
properly.
The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
Your car also has side curtain
airbags. During a moderate to severe
side impact, side curtain airbags help
to protect the heads of the driver,
f ront seat passenger, and passengers
sitting in the outer rear seating
positions.
U.S. EX-V6 model, optional on Canadian
EX-V6 model
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Seats and Seat-Backs
What you should do:
A irbags of f er no prot ect ion in rear
impact s, rollovers, or minor f ront al or side collisions.
Airbags do not replace seat belts.
Airbags can pose serious hazards.
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Frontseatoccupantsaresitting
upright and as f ar back as possible
f rom the steering wheel and
dashboard (see page ).
Seat-backs are upright (see page).
Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page ).
All doors are closed and locked
(see page ).
All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page ).
To make sure you and your
passengers get the maximum
protection f rom your car’s saf ety
f eatures, check the f ollowing each
time before you drive away:
All adults, and children who have
outgrown child saf ety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and
wearingthemproperly(seepage ).
Any inf ant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat
inthebackseat(seepage ).
Move the f ront
seats as far back as possible, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an
upright position whenever the car is
moving.
Head restraints can help protect you
f rom whiplash and other injuries. For
maximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the
center of the head restraint.
Keeping your doors locked reduces
thechanceof beingthrownoutof
the car during a crash. It also helps
prevent occupants f rom accidentally
opening a door and f alling out, and
outsiders f rom unexpectedly opening
your doors. 15
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214
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Your Car’s Saf ety Features
Pre-Drive Saf ety Checklist
Head Restraints
Door L ocksWhat you should do:
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For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider f rom
unexpectedly opening a door when
you come to a stop.
Your car has a door monitor light on
the instrument panel to indicate
when a specif ic door is not tightly
closed.
For saf ety, locking the doors reduces
thechancethatapassenger,
especially a child, will open a door
while the car is moving and
accidentally f all out. It also reduces
thechanceof someonebeingthrown
out of the car during a crash.
See page f or how to lock the
doors.
Af ter everyone has entered the car,
be sure the doors are closed and
locked.
These instructions also apply to
children who have outgrown child
seats and are large enough to wear
lap/shoulder belts. (See page f or
important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect larger
children.)
The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver and other adult
occupants.
The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
Remember, however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
Close and L ock the Doors
Introduction 1.
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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 f rom being
struck by an inflating front airbag
during a crash.To reduce the chance of injury, wear
your seat belt properly, sit upright
with your back against the seat, and
movetheseatawayfromthe
steering wheel to the f arthest
distance that allows you to maintain
f ull control of the car.
Most shorter drivers can get f ar
enough away f rom 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 f orth to make sure
the seat is locked in position.
See page f or how to adjust the
f ront seats.
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 f rom
the center of the steering wheel. In
addition to adjusting the seat, you
can adjust the steering wheel in and
out (see page ).
Also make sure your f ront seat
passenger moves the seat as f ar to
the rear as possible.
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Protecting Adults
Adjust the Front Seats
2.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety13
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.
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Adjust the steering wheel, if needed,
so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your f ace.
Pointing the steering wheel toward
your chest provides optimal
protection f rom the airbag.
See page f or how to adjust the
steering wheel.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 of f .
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 f eet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased.
In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the f ront seat can be
seriously or f atally injured by
striking interior parts of the car, or
by being struck by an inf lating f ront
airbag. Being struck by an inflating
side airbag can result in possibly
serious injuries.
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Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting Adults
Adjust the Steering Wheel Maintain a Proper Sitting Position
6.
7.
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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 thefloor.
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Childrenuptoaboutone
year old should be restrained in a
rear-f acing, reclining child seat. Only
a rear-f acing seat provides the
proper support to protect an inf ant’s
head, neck, and back. See page for additional information on
protecting inf ants.
The f ollowing pages give general
guidelines f or selecting and installing
child seats f or inf ants and small
children.
To provide proper protection, a child
seat should meet three
requirements:
The child seat should
meet Federal Motor Vehicle
Saf ety Standard 213 (FMVSS 213)
or Canadian Motor Vehicle Saf ety
Standard 213 (CMVSS 213). Look
for the manufacturer’s statement
of compliance on the box and seat.
Children
who play in cars can accidentally
get trapped inside the trunk and
be seriously injured or could die.
Teach your children not to play in
or around cars. Know how to
operate the emergency trunk
opener and decide if your children
should be shown how to use this
feature(seepage ).
Even very young
children learn how to unlock car
doors, turn on the ignition, and
openthetrunk,whichcanleadto
accidental injury or death.
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T he child seat should be of the
proper t ype and size t o f it t he child.
Inf ant s:
Select ing a Child Seat
T he child seat should meet saf et yst andards.
L ock all doors and t he t runk when
your car is not in use.
K eep car keys/remot etransmitters out of the reach of
children. 2.
1.
General Guidelines f or Using
Child Seats
Protecting Children
Driver and Passenger Saf ety26
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