2005 HONDA CIVIC HATCHBACK child seat

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You’ll f ind many saf ety
recommendations throughout this
section, and throughout this manual.
Therecommendationsonthispage
are the ones we consider to be the
most important.
Excessive speed is a major f actor in
crash injuries and deaths. Generally,
the higher the speed, the greater the
risk, but serious injuries can also
occur at lower speeds. Never drive
f aster than is saf e f or current
conditions, regardless of the
maximum speed posted.
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical f ailure can be extremely
hazardous. To reduce the possibility
of such problems, check your tire
pressures and condition f requently,
and perform all regularly scheduled
maintenance (see page ).
A seat belt is your best protection in
all types of collisions. Airbags are
designed to supplement seat belts,
not replace them. So even though
your vehicle is equipped with airbags,
make sure you and your passengers
always wear your seat belts, and
wear them properly (see page ).
Children age 12 and under should
ride properly restrained in a back
seat. Infants and small children
should be restrained in a child seat.
Larger children should use a booster
and a lap/shoulder belt until they
canusethebeltproperlywithouta
booster (see page ). While airbags can save lives, they
can cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to them,
or are not properly restrained.
Inf ants, young children, and short
adults are at the greatest risk. Be
sure to f ollow all instructions and
warnings in this manual.
Alcohol and driving don’t mix. Even
one drink can reduce your ability to
respond to changing conditions, and
your reaction time gets worse with
every additional drink. So don’t drink
and drive, and don’t let your f riends
drink and drive, either.
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Important Saf ety Precautions
Always Wear Your Seat Belt Control Your Speed
K eep Your Vehicle in Saf e
Condition
Restrain All Children Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
Don’t Drink and Drive
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Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in all seating positions.
Your seat belt system also includes
an indicator on the instrument panel
to remind you and your passengers
to f asten your seat belts.
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 vehicle has airbags.
In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.When properly worn, seat belts:
Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures.
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers. Help keep you f rom being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against other occupants.
Keep you f rom being thrown out
of the vehicle.
Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of
injury f rom an inf lating airbag and
allows you to get the best
advantage f rom the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash.Butinmostcases,seatbelts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.
Always wear your seat belt, and
make sure you wear it properly.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
What You Should Do:
10Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.
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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 injures or
deaths that can occur in a severe
crash, even where seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.
Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider f rom unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.
See page f or how to lock the
doors.
If you sit too close to the steering
wheel or dashboard, you can be
seriously injured by an inf lating f ront
airbag, or by striking the steering
wheel or dashboard.
Locking the doors reduces the
chance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash and it
helps prevent passenger f rom
accidentally opening a door and
f alling out.
Adjust the driver’s seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain control of the vehicle. Have
a f ront passenger adjust their seat as
far to the rear as possible.
The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver, adult passengers
and teenage children who are large
enough and mature enough to ride in
the front seat.
See page f or important guidelines
on how to properly protect inf ants,
small children, and larger children
who ride in your vehicle.
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Close and L ock the Doors A djust the Front Seats
Introduction 1.
2.
Protecting A dults and Teens
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If you are pregnant, the best way to
protect yourself and your unborn
child when driving or riding in a
vehicle is to always wear a seat belt,
and keep the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across the hips.When driving, remember to sit
upright and adjust the seat as f ar
back as possible while allowing f ull
control of the vehicle. When riding
as a f ront passenger, adjust the seat
as far back as possible.
This will reduce the risk of injuries
to both you and your unborn child
that can be caused by a crash or an
inflating front airbag.
Each time you have a checkup, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive.
In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the f ront seat can be
seriously or f atally injured in a crash
by striking interior parts of the
vehicle or being struck by an
inflating front airbag.
Advice f or Pregnant Women
Protecting A dults and Teens
18Sitting 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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Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all f ive seating
positions. The f ront seat belts are
also equipped with automatic seat
belt tensioners. To f asten the belt, insert the latchplate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched (see page f or how to
properly position the belt).
To unlock the belt, push the red
PRESSbuttononthebuckle.Guide
the belt across your body so that it
retracts completely. Af ter exiting the
vehicle, be sure the belt is out of the
way and will not get closed in the
door.All seat belts have an emergency
locking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move f reely in
your seat while it keeps some
tension on the belt. During a collision
or sudden stop, the retractor
automatically locks the belt to help
restrain your body.
The seat belts in all positions except
the driver’s have an additional
locking mechanism that must be
activated to secure a child seat (see
page ).
If the shoulder part of the belt is
pulled all the way out, the locking
mechanism will activate. The belt
will retract, but it will not allow the
passenger to move f reely.
The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you and your passengers to
f asten your seat belts.
If you turn the ignition switch to ON
(II) bef ore f astening your belt, the
beeper sounds and the indicator
f lashes. If you do not f asten your
seat belt bef ore the beeper stops, the
indicator stops f lashing but remainson.
If you continue driving without
f astening your seat belt, the beeper
will sound and the indicator will f lash
again at regular intervals. The lap/shoulder belt goes over
your shoulder, across your chest,
and across your hips.
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Seat Belt System Components L ap/Shoulder Belt
Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
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Two SRS (Supplemental Restraint
System) f ront airbags. The driver’s
airbag is stored in the center of
the steering wheel; the f ront
passenger’sairbagisstoredinthe
dashboard. Both are marked ‘‘SRS
AIRBAG.’’
Automatic seat belt tensioners
(see page ).
Your Airbag System includes:
Emergency backup power in case
your vehicle’s electrical system is
disconnected in a crash.an
indicator on the dashboard that
alerts you that the passenger’s
side airbag has been turned of f
(see page ).
In models with side airbags,
sensors that can detect whether a
child is in the passenger’s side
airbag path and automatically turn
the airbag of f (see page ).
A sophisticated electronic system
that continually monitors and
records inf ormation about the
sensors, the control unit, the
airbag activators, the seat belt
tensioners, and driver and f ront
passenger seat belt use when the
ignition is in the ON (II) position.
An indicator on the instrument
panel that alerts you to a possible
problem with your airbags,
sensors, or seat belt tensioners
(see page ).
In models with side airbags, one
for the driver and one for a front
passenger. The airbags are stored
in the outer edges of the seat-
backs. Both are marked ‘‘SIDE
AIRBAG’’ (see page ).
Sensors that can detect a
moderate to severe front impact,
or side impact in models with side
airbags.
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In models with side airbags,A irbag System Components
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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(On models equipped)
If you ever have a moderate to
severe side impact, sensors will
detect rapid deceleration and signal
the control unit to instantly inf late
either the driver’s or the passenger’s
side airbag.
Only one airbag will deploy during a
side impact. If the impact is on the
passenger’s side, the passenger’s
side airbag will deploy even if thereis no passenger.
Objects placed on the f ront
passenger seat can also cause the
side airbag to be shut of f .
Thesideairbagmayalsoshutoff if a
short adult leans sideways, or a
larger adult slouches and leans
sideways into the airbag’s
deployment path.
Although Honda does not encourage
children to ride in f ront, this system
is designed to shut of f the side
airbag if a child leans into the side
airbag’s path.
To reduce the risk of injury f rom an
inf lating side airbag, your vehicle has
an automatic cutoff system for the
passenger’s side airbag.
If the Side Airbag Of f Indicator
comes on (see page ), have the
passenger sit upright. Once the
passenger is out of the airbag’s
deployment path, the system will
turn the airbag back on, and the
indicator will go out.
A f ront seat passenger should not
use a cushion or other object as a
backrest. It may prevent the cutof f
system f rom working properly.
There will be some delay between
the moment the passenger moves
into or out of the airbag deployment
pathandwhentheindicatorcomes
on or goes of f . 27
How Your Side A irbags Work
Additional Inf ormation About Your Airbags
Side A irbag Cut of f Syst em
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Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best
intentions many adults do not know
how to properly protect child
passengers.
If you have children, or ever need to
drive with a child in your vehicle, be
sure to read this section. It begins
with important general guidelines,
then presents special inf ormation f or
infants, small children, and larger
children. Each year, many children are injured
or killed in vehicle crashes because
they are either unrestrained or not
properly restrained. In f act, vehicle
accidents are the number one cause
of the death of children ages 12 and
under.
To reduce the number of child
deaths and injuries, every state and
Canadian province requires that
inf ants and children be properly
restrained when they ride in a
vehicle.
(see pages ). (see pages ).
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Protecting Children General Guidelines
All Children Must Be Restrained
Inf ant s and small children must be
rest rained in an approved child seatt hat is properly secured t o t hevehicle Larger children must be restrained
wit h a lap/shoulder belt and ride ona boost er seat unt il t he seat belt f it st hem properly
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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Children who are unrestrained
or improperly restrained can be
seriously injured or killed in acrash.
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 and
use a booster seat if necessary.
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