96 Driving Safely
-Never attempt to adjust 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.
- Children must always be properly re
strained in a child restraint that is appro
priate for their age and size
Q page 130.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only re
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are properly positioned on the body. Improper seating positions reduce the
effectiveness of safety belts and will even in
crease the risk of injury and death by moving
the safety belt to critical areas of the body.
Improper seating positions also increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an air
bag deploys and strikes an occupant who is
not in the proper seat ing position. A driver is
responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu
pants and especially for children . Therefore:
.. Never allow anyone to ass ume an incorrect
seat ing position when the vehicle is being
used
Q A .
The following bullets list only some sample
positions that will increase the risk of serious
injury and death. Our hope is that these exam
ples will make you more aware of seating po
sitions 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
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways -
never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or
back of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING ..___
Improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu
pants stay in a proper seating position
and are properly restrained whenever the
vehicle is being used.
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
A WARNING
-
~ -
Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without interference. Objects be
tween yourself and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by interfer
ing with the way the airbag deploys or by
being pushed into you as the airbag de
ploys.
- No persons (children) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas
senger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can result in ser ious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried
in the footwell area in front of the driv
er's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham
per or prevent proper deployment of the
airbag. Small objects can be thrown
through the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and injure you or your passengers.
