Proper adjustment of head restraints
Applies to vehicles: with adj ustable head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints ore on im
portant port of your vehicle's occupant re
straint system and con help to reduce the risk of injuries in occident situations.
F ig . 140 H ead re str ain t: v ie w ed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust
ed to achieve the best protection .
.,. Adjus t the head restraints so the upper
edge is as even as possible with the top of
your head. If that is not possib le, try to ad
just the head restraint so that it is as close to this position as possible
r::> fig . 140.
.,. If there is a passenger on the rear center
seating position, slide the center head re
straint upward at least to the next notch .
Adj usting head restraints
c:;, page 61.
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head re
straints. Driv ing without head restraints or
w ith head restra ints that are not properly
adjusted increases the risk of ser ious or fa
tal neck injury dramat ica lly. To help reduce
the risk of in ju ry:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every pe rson in the veh icle must have a
properly adj usted head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the ve
hicle properly adjusts their head re
strain t. Adj ust the head restrain ts so the
upper edge is as even as poss ib le w ith
the top of your head .
If that is not possi
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
Dr ivin g Sa fely 131
that it is as close to this posit ion as pos
sible.
- Never attempt to adj ust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safely be
fore attempting to adjust the head re straint .
- Ch ildren must a lways be properly re
strained i n a child rest raint that is appro
priate for their age and size
c:;, page 166 .
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupan t restraint system con only re
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore
properly seated .
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury or death . Safety belts can only work
when they are properly positioned on the body . Imp roper seating positions red uce the
effe ct iveness of safety belts and wi ll even in
c rease the r is k of injury and dea th by moving
the safety be lt to crit ica l areas o f the body.
Improper seating positions a lso increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an air
bag deploys and strikes an occupant who is
not in the proper seating posit ion. A driver is
responsible for the safety of all veh icle occu
pants a nd espec ially for children . Therefo re :
.,. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used
c:;, .&, .
The following bulletins list on ly some samp le
positions that will increase the risk of serious
injury and death . Our hope is that these exam
ples will make you more aware of seat ing po
s itions that are dangerous .
Therefore , whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- neve r ride wit h the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- neve r lean up aga inst the instrumen t panel ..,_
