2010 HONDA ELEMENT belt

If You Must Drive with Several Children
Your vehicle has two back seats
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, provided the child is large
enough to wear the lap/shoulder
belt properly (see page 49).
● Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page 83).
● Have the child sit upright and well
back in the seat (see page 15).
● Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page14). If a Child Requires CloseAttention
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 requiresattention.
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.
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.
Protecting Children
－General Guidelines
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Additional Safety Precautions●
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 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.
●
Never put a seat belt over yourself and a child.During a crash, the
belt could press deep into the child
and cause serious or fatal injuries.
●
Never let two children use the same seat belt.If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in acrash. ●
Make sure any unused seat belt
that a child can reach is buckled,the lockable retractor is activated,
and the belt is fully retracted and
locked.
If a child wraps a loose
seat belt around their neck, they
can be seriously or fatally injured.
(See page 46 for how to activate
and deactivate the lockableretractor.)
●
Do not leave children alone in a vehicle.
Leaving children without
adult supervision is illegal in most
states, Canadian provinces/
territories, and can be veryhazardous.
For example, infants and small
children left in a vehicle on a hot
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. ●
Lock all doors, the tailgate and the
hatch when your vehicle is not in
use.
Children who play in vehicles
can accidentally get trapped inside.
Teach your children not to play in
or around vehicles.
●
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 or hatch,
which can lead to accidental injury
or death.
Protecting Children －General Guidelines
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Even with advanced front airbags that
automatically turn the passenger's front
airbag off (see page 32), a back seat is
the safest place for a small child.
If it is necessary to put a forward-facing
child seat in the front, move the vehicle
seat as far to the rear as possible, and
be sure the child seat is firmly secured
to the vehicle and the child is properly
strapped in the seat.
Placing a forward-facing child
seat in the front seat can result in
serious injury or death if the front
airbag inflates.
If you must place a forward-facing
child seat in front, move the
vehicle seat as far back as
possible, and properly restrain
the child.Selecting a Child Seat
When buying a child seat, you need
to choose either a conventional child
seat, or one designed for use with
the Lower Anchors and Tethers for
CHildren (LATCH) system.
Conventional child seats must be
secured to a vehicle with a seat belt,
whereas LATCH-compatible seats
are secured by attaching the seat to
hardware built into the rear seats.
Since LATCH-compatible child seats
are easier to install and reduce the
possibility of improper installation,
we recommend selecting this style.
In seating positions and vehicles not
equipped with LATCH, a LATCH-
compatible child seat can be installed
using a seat belt.
Whatever type of seat you choose, to
provide proper protection, a child
seat should meet threerequirements: 1.
The child seat should meet Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213or Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 213.
Look for FMVSS
213 or CMVSS 213 on the box.
2.
The child seat should be of the proper type and size to fit the child.
Rear-facing for infants, forward-
facing for small children.
Protecting Infants and Small Children, Selecting a Child Seat
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3.The child seat should fit the vehicleseating position (or positions)where it will be used.
Before purchasing a conventional
child seat, or using a previously
purchased one, we recommend that
you test the seat in the specific
vehicle seating position or positions
where the seat will be used. Installing a Child Seat
After selecting a proper child seat
and a good place to install the seat,
there are three main steps in
installing the seat: 1.
Properly secure the child seat to
the vehicle.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.
2.
Make sure the child seat is firmly secured.
After installing a child
seat, push and pull the seat
forward and from side-to-side to
verify that it is secure. A child seat secured with a seat belt
should be installed as firmly as
possible. However, it does not need
to be
‘‘rock solid. ’’Some side-to-side
movement can be expected and
should not reduce the child seat'seffectiveness.
If the child seat is not secure, try
installing it in a different seating
position, or use a different style of
child seat that can be firmly secured. 3.
Secure the child in the child seat.
Make sure the child is properly
strapped in the child seat
according to the child seat maker's
instructions. A child who is not
properly secured in a child seat
can be seriously injured in a crash.
The following pages provide
guidelines on how to properly install
a child seat. A forward-facing child
seat is used in all examples, but the
instructions are the same for rear-
facing child seats.
Selecting a Child Seat, Installing a Child Seat
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8. Attach the tether strap hook to thetether anchor, then tighten the
strap as instructed by the child
seat maker.
If the tether strap is too long and
cannot be tightened firmly, find a
route where the strap can be
tightened securely.
9. Push and pull the child seat forward and from side-to-side to
verify that it is secure. Installing a Child Seat with a Lap/
Shoulder Belt
When not using the LATCH system,
all child seats must be secured to the
vehicle with the lap part of a lap/
shoulder belt.
In addition, the lap/shoulder belts in
all seating positions except the
driver's have a lockable retractor that
must be activated to secure a childseat.1. With the child seat in the desired
seating position, route the belt
through the child seat according to
the seat maker's instructions, then
insert the latch plate into the
buckle and remove any slack from
the lap portion of the belt.
TETHER STRAP HOOK
TETHER ANCHOR
Installing a Child Seat
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2. To activate the lockable retractor,slowly pull the shoulder part of the
belt all the way out until it stops,
then let the belt feed back into theretractor.
3. After the belt has retracted, tug on it. If the belt is locked, you will not
be able to pull it out. If you can pull
the belt out, it is not locked, and
you will need to repeat these steps.4. After confirming that the belt islocked, grab the shoulder part of
the belt near the buckle, and pull
up to remove any slack from the
lap part of the belt. Remember, if
the lap part of the belt is not tight,
the child seat will not be secure.
To remove slack, it may help to put
weight on the child seat, or push
on the back of the seat while
pulling up on the belt.5. Push and pull the child seatforward and from side-to-side to
verify that it is secure enough to
stay upright during normal driving
maneuvers. If the child seat is not
secure, unlatch the belt, allow it to
retract fully, then repeat thesesteps.
To deactivate the lockable retractor
and remove a child seat, unlatch the
buckle, unroute the seat belt, and let
the belt fully retract.
Installing a Child Seat
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Installing a Child Seat with a Tether
A child seat with a tether can be
installed in either back seat, using
one of the anchor points shownabove.
Since a tether can provide additional
security to the lap/shoulder belt
installation, we recommend using a
tether whenever one is required oravailable.
1. After securing the child seat in thedesired position (see page 46),
remove the head restraint (see
page 85), then route the tether
strap over the top of the seat-back.
2. Slide the anchor cover open as shown.3. Attach the tether strap hook to theanchor, making sure the strap is
not twisted.
4. Tighten the strap according to the seat maker's instructions. Make
sure the removed head restraint is
secured in the cargo area. Reinstall
the head restraint in place when
you remove the child seat.
TETHER ANCHORAGE POINTS
TETHER ANCHOR
ANCHOR COVER
TETHER ANCHOR
TETHER STRAP HOOK
Installing a Child Seat
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When a child reaches the
recommended weight or height limit
for a forward-facing child seat, the
child should sit in a back seat on a
booster seat and wear the lap/
shoulder belt.
The following pages give instructions
on how to check proper seat belt fit,
what kind of booster seat to use if one
is needed, and important precautions
for a child who must sit in front.
Allowing a child age 12 or under
to sit in front can result in injury
or death if the passenger's front
airbag inflates.
If a child must ride in front, move
the vehicle seat as far back as
possible, use a booster seat if
needed, have the child sit up
properly and wear the seat beltproperly.Checking Seat Belt FitTo determine if a lap/shoulder belt
properly fits a child, have the child
put on the seat belt, then ask yourself:
1. Does the child sit all the way back
against the seat?
2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably over the edge of the seat? 3. Does the shoulder belt cross
between the child's neck and arm?
4. Is the lap part of the belt as low as possible, touching the child'sthighs?
5. Will the child be able to stay seated like this for the whole trip?
If you answer yes to all these
questions, the child is ready to wear
the lap/shoulder belt correctly. If
you answer no to any question, the
child needs to ride on a booster seat.
Protecting Larger Children
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Driver and Passenger Safety
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