2007 HONDA CIVIC HYBRID page 30

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Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best
intentions, many adults do not know
how to protect child
passengers.
If you have children, or ever need to
drive with a child in your vehicl e, be
sure to read this section. It begins
with important general guidelines,
then presents special information for
infa nts, small children, and larger
children. To
reduce the number of child
deaths and injuries, every state and
Canadian province requires that
infants and children be properly
restrained when they ride in a
vehicle.
(see pages ).
(see pages ).
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 age 12 and
under.
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properly
All Children Must Be Restrained
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
Inf ant s and small children must be
rest rained in an approved child seatt hat is properly secured t o t hevehicle
Protecting Children General Guidelines
34
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 and
use a booster seat if necessary.

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If the vehicle seat is too
farforward,orthechild’sheadis
thro wn forward during a collision, an
inflating front airbag can strike the
child with enough force to kill or
very seriously injure a small child.
According
to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are
safer when they are restrained in a
back seat.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that all children
aged 12 and under be properly
restrained in a back seat. Some
states have laws restricting where
children may ride.
Children who ride in back are less
likely to be injured by striking
interior vehicle parts during a
collision or hard braking. Also,
children cannot be injured by an
inflating front airbag when they ride
in the back. Even
though your vehicle has an
advanced front airbag system that
automatically turns the passenger’s
front airbag off (see page ),
please follow these guidelines:
If
the airbag inflates, it can hit the back
of the child seat with enough force
to kill or very seriously injure an
infant. Whenever
possible,
larger children should sit in the back
seat, on a booster seat if needed, and
be properly restrained with a seat
belt. (See page f or important
inf ormation about protecting larger
children.)
Front airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to
severe f rontal collision. To do this,
the passenger’s f ront airbag is quite
large, and it can inflate with enough
f orce to cause very serious injuries.
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CONT INUED
Placing a f orward-f acing child seat inthe f ront seat of a vehicle equippedwith passenger’s f ront airbag can behazardous.
Never put a rear-f acing child seat in the f ront seat of a vehicle equippedwit h a passenger’s f ront airbag. Small Children
Larger Children
Inf ant s Children who have outgrown child
seat s are also at risk of being injuredor killed by an inf lat ing passenger’sfront airbag.
All Children Should Sit in a Back
Seat The Passenger’s Front Airbag
Can Pose Serious Risks
Protecting Children General Guidelines
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
35

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Many parents say they prefer to put
an infant or a 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 in a
frontal collision, and paying close
attention to a child distracts the
driver from the important tasks of
driving, placing both of you at risk.
Your
vehicle has a back seat where
children can be properly restrained.
If you ever have to carry a group of
children, and a child must ride in
front:
Place the largest child in the front
seat, pro vided the child is large
enough to wear the lap/shoulder
belt properly (see page ).
Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page ).
Have the child sit upright and well
backintheseat(seepage ).
Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secu red (see page
). If a child requires close 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.
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If You Must Drive with Several
Children
If a Child Requires Close
Attention
Protecting Children General Guidelines
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
37

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If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash. If
you are not wearing a
seat belt in a crash, you could be
thrown forward and crush the
child against the dashboard or a
seat-back. If you are wearing a
seat belt, the child can be torn
from your arms and be seriously
hurt or killed.
During a crash, the
belt could press deep into the child
and cause serious or fatal injuries.
This can prevent
children from accidentally falling
out (see page ). Even
very young
children learn how to unlock
vehicle doors, turn on the ignition
switch, and open the trunk, which
can lead to accide ntal injury or
death. Children
who play in vehicles can
accidentally get trapped inside.
Teach your children not to play in
or around vehicles. Know how to
operate the emergency trunk
opener and decide if your children
should be shown how to use this
feature(seepage ).
For example, infants and small
childrenleftinavehicleonahot
day can die from heatstroke. A
child left alone with the key in the
ignition switch can accidentally set
the vehicle in motion, possibly
injuring themselves or others.
If
a child wraps a loose
seat belt around their neck, they
can be seriously or fatally injured.
(See pages and f or how to
activate and deactivate the
lockable retractor.)
Leaving children without
adult supervision is illegal in most
states and Canadian provinces,
and can be very hazardous.
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Additional Saf ety Precautions
Never let two children use the
same seat belt .
Neverholdaninfantorchildon
your lap.
Never put a seat belt over yourselfand a child.
Use t he childproof door locks t oprevent children f rom opening t herear doors. K eep vehicle keys and remot e
transmitters out of the reach ofchildren.
L ock all doors and t he t runk when
your vehicle is not in use.
Make sure any unused seat belt
t hat a child can reach is buckled,the lockable retractor is activated,and the belt is f ully retracted andlocked.
Do not leave children alone in avehicle.
Protecting Children General Guidelines
38

Of the different seats available, we
recommend those that have a five-
point harness system as shown.
In
any of these situations, we
strongly recommend that you install
the child seat directly behind the
front passenger’s seat, move the seat
as far forward as needed, and leave it
unoccupied. Or, you may wish to get
a smaller rear-facing child seat. We strongly recommend placing a
forward-fa cing child seat in a back
seat, not the front.
If the vehicle seat is too
farforward,orthechild’sheadis
thro wn forward during a collision, an
inflating airbag can strike the child
with enough force to cause very
serious or fatal injuries.
Ev en with advanced front airbags,
which can automatically turn the
passenger’s front airbag off (see
page ), a back seat is the saf est
place f or a small child.
A child who is at least one year old,
and who fits within the child seat
maker’s weight and height limits,
should be restrained in a f orward-
f acing, upright child seat. We also recommend that a small
child use the child seat as long as
possible, until the child reaches the
weight or height limit f or the seat.
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Protecting Small Children
Child Seat T ype
Child Seat Placement
Placing a f orward-f acing child seat inthe f ront seat of a vehicle equippedwith a passenger’s airbag can behazardous.
Protecting Inf ants and Small Children
40
Placing a rear-facing child seat
in the front seat can result in
serious injury or death if the
passenger’s front airbag inflates.
Always place a rear-facing child
seat in the back seat, not the
front.

A child seat secured with a seat belt
should be installed as f irmly as
possible. However, it does not need
to be ‘‘rock solid.’’ Some side-to-sidemovement can be expected and
should not reduce the child seat’s
ef f ectiveness.
Bef ore purchasing a conventional
child seat, or using a previously
purchased one, we recommend that
you test the seat in the specif ic
vehicle seating position or positions
where the seat will be used.
Af ter installing a child
seat, push and pull the seat
f orward and f rom side-to-side to
verify that it is secure. All child seats must be
secured to the vehicle with the lap
part of a lap/shoulder belt or with
the LATCH (lower anchors and
tethers for children) system. A
child whose seat is not properly
secured to the vehicle can be
endangered in a crash.
Af ter selecting a proper child seat
and a good place to install the seat,
there are three main steps in
installing the seat: If the child seat is not secure, try
installing it in a dif f erent seating
position, or use a dif f erent style of
child seat that can be f irmly secured.
Make sure the child is properly
strappedinthechildseat
according to the child seat maker’s
instructions. A child who is not
properly secured in a child seat
canbeseriouslyinjuredinacrash.
The f ollowing pages provide
guidelines on how to properly install
a child seat. A f orward-f acing child
seat is used in all examples, but the
instructions are the same f or a rear-
f acing child seat.
Make sure t he child seat is f irmly secured.
Properly secure t he child seat t o
the vehicle.
Secure the child in the child seat.
1.
2. 3.
Installing a Child Seat
Selecting a Child Seat, Installing a Child Seat
42

Other LATCH-compatible seats have
a flexible-type connector as shown
above.
Whatever type you have, follow
the child seat maker’s instructions
for adjusting or tightening the fit. Lift
the head restraint (see page
), then route the tether strap
through the legs of the head
restraint and over the seat-back,
making sure the strap is not
twisted. Attach the tether strap hook to the
tether anchor, then tighten the
strap as instructed by the child
seat maker.
Pushandpullthechildseat
f orward and f rom side-to-side to
verify that it is secure. If the tether strap is too long and
cannot be tightened f irmly, f ind a
route where the strap can be
tightened securely.
Tighten the strap according to the
seat maker’s instructions.
6. 5.
4. 7.
90 8.
Installing a Child Seat
44
Flexible type Front
ANCHOR
TETHER STRAP HOOK

After properly securing the child
seat (see page ), lift the head
restraint, then route the tether
strap over the seat-back and
through the head restraint legs.
If the tether strap is too long and
cannot be tightened f irmly, f ind a
route where the strap can be
tightened securely. Lift the anchor cover, then attach
the tether strap hook to the
anchor, making sure the strap is
not twisted.
Tighten the strap according to the
seat maker’s instructions.
1. 2.
3.
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Installing a Child Seat
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
47
Front
ANCHOR
ANCHOR Front
Outer Position Center Position
TETHER STRAP HOOK TETHER STRAP HOOK