2010 HONDA ACCORD SEDAN page 53

µYou’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.
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, not the front seat. Infants and
smallchildrenshouldberestrained
in a child seat. Larger children
should use a booster seat and a lap/
shoulder belt until they can use the
belt properly without a booster seat
(see pages ).
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.
Engaging in mobile phone
conversation or other activities that
keep you f rom paying close attention
to the road, other vehicles and
pedestrians could lead to a crash.
Remember, situations can change
quickly, and only you can decide
when it is saf e to divert attention
away f rom driving.
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 ).
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.14
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Important Saf ety Precautions
Always Wear Your Seat Belt
Restrain All Children
Be Aware of Airbag Hazards
Don’t Drink and Drive
Pay Appropriate Attention to the
Task of Driving Saf ely
K eep Your Vehicle in Saf e
Condition
Control Your Speed
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2010 Accord Sedan

Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together to
protect you and your passengers
during a crash.
The f ollowing pages explain how you
cantakeanactiveroleinprotecting
yourself and your passengers.
However, you and your passengers
can’t take f ull advantage of these
f eatures unless you remain sitting in
the correct position and
. In fact, some safety
f eatures can contribute to injuries if
they are not used properly.
Some f eatures do not require any
action on your part. These include a
strong steel f ramework that f orms a
saf ety cage around the passenger
compartment, front and rear crush
zones, a collapsible steering column,
and tensioners that tighten the f ront
seat belts in a crash.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
always wear
your seat belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
7
(7)
(10) (8)(3)(4)(9)(1)(4)
(9)
(11)(8)
(2)
(6)
(5)
(2)
(7)
(6) Seat Belts (7) Front Airbags(8) Side Airbags(9) Side Curtain Airbags(10) Door Locks(11) Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
(1) Safety Cage (2) Crush Zones(3) Seats and Seat-Backs(4) Head Restraints(5) Collapsible Steering Column
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CONT INUED
Your vehicle has a supplemental
restraint system (SRS) with f ront
airbags to help protect the heads and
chests of the driver and a front seat
passenger during a moderate to
severe f rontal collision (see page
f or more inf ormation on how
your f ront airbags work).
Your vehicle also has side airbags to
help protect the upper torso of the
driver or a f ront seat passenger
during a moderate to severe side
impact (see page f or more
information on how your side airbags
work).
In addition, your vehicle has side
curtain airbags to help protect the
heads of the driver, f ront passenger,
and passengers in the outer rear
seating positions during a moderate
to severe side impact (see page
f or more inf ormation on how
your side curtain airbags work).
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Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Airbags
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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CONT INUED
Adjust the driver’s seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain f ull control of the vehicle.
Have a front 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 drive
or ride in the f ront.
See pages f or important
guidelines on how to properly
protect inf ants, small children, and
larger children who ride in your
vehicle.
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.
Locking the doors reduces the
chance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash, and it
helps prevent passengers f rom
accidentally opening a door and
f alling out.
Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider f rom unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.
Your vehicle has a door and
trunk open indicator on the
instrument panel to indicate when a
specif ic door or the trunk is not
tightly closed.
See page f or how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the door/
trunk open indicator works.
Your vehicle has a programmable
auto door locking/unlocking f eature.
For more inf ormation, see page .
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Protecting A dults and Teens
IntroductionA djust the Front Seats
Close and L ock the Doors1.
2.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
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2010 Accord Sedan

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.
Adjust the driver’s seat-back to a
comf ortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between your
chest and the airbag cover in the
center of the steering wheel.
Passengers with adjustable seat-
backs should also adjust their seat-
back to a comf ortable, upright
position.
If you cannot get f ar enough away
f rom the steering wheel and still
reach the controls, we recommend
that you investigate whether some
type of adaptive equipment may help.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that drivers
allow at least 10 inches (25 cm)
between the center of the steering
wheel and the chest. In addition to
adjusting the seat, you can adjust the
steering wheel up and down, and in
and out (see page ).
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 a
f ront seat (power adjustment) and
page f or a manual adjustment.
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On manual adjustable seats
Protecting A dults and Teens
Adjust the Seat-Backs3.
12
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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2010 Accord Sedan

Adjust the driver’s head restraint so
the center of the back of your head
rests against the center of the
restraint.
Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants f rom
whiplash and other crash injuries.
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.
See page f or how to adjust the
manual adjustable seat-back, and
page f or the power adjustable
seat-back.
Have passengers adjust their head
restraints properly as well. Taller
persons should adjust their restraint
as high as possible.
See page f or how to adjust the
head restraints and how the driver’s
and f ront passenger’s active head
restraints work.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
A djust the Head Restraints4.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
13
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.
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.
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2010 Accord Sedan

After all occupants have adjusted
their seats and head restraints, and
put on their 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 safely parked and the
engine is of f .
This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them.
If a seat belt does not seem to work
properly, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
Using a seat
belt that is not working properly can
result in serious injury or death.
Have your dealer check the belt as
soon as possible.
The front seats have adjustable seat
belt anchors. To adjust the height of
an anchor, press and hold the release
button and slide the anchor up or
down as needed (it has f our
positions).
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.
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CONT INUED
Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
6.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Never place t he shoulder port ion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm or
behind your back.
No one should sit in a seat wit h an
inoperat ive seat belt .
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
15
RELEASE BUTTON
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Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in all seating positions.
The f ront seat belts are also
equipped with automatic seat belt
tensioners.
If the indicator comes on or the
beeper sounds when the driver’s seat
belt is latched and there is no f ront
seat passenger and no items on the
front seat, something may be
interf ering with the monitoring
system. Look f or and remove:
Any items under the f ront
passenger’s seat.
Any object(s) hanging on the seat
or in the seat-back pocket.
Any object(s) touching the rear of
the seat-back.When no one is sitting in the f ront
passenger’s seat, or a child or small
adult is riding there, the indicator
should not come on and the beeper
should not sound.
If a f ront passenger does not f asten
their seat belt, the indicator will
come on about 6 seconds af ter the
ignition switch is turned to the ON
(II) position.
This system monitors the f ront seat
belts. If you turn the ignition switch
to the ON (II) position bef ore your
seat belt is f astened, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will f lash. If
your seat belt is not f astened bef ore
the beeper stops, the indicator will
stop f lashing but remain on.
This system uses the same sensors
as the front airbags to monitor
whether the f ront seat belts are
latched or unlatched, and how much
weight is on the f ront passenger’s
seat (see pages and ).
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 either the driver or a f ront
passenger does not f asten their seat
belt while driving, the beeper will
sound and the indicator will f lash
again at regular intervals.
If no obstructions are f ound, have
your vehicle checked by a dealer.
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Seat Belt System Components
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