132 Driving Safel y
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 . 149 H ead re str ain t: vi ew ed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust
ed to achieve the best protection .
.. Adjust the head restr aint so the uppe r edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible¢
fig. 149. Move
the head restraint so that it is as close to the
back of the head as possible.
.. If there is a passenger on the rear center
seat ing pos ition*, slide the center head re
straint* upward at least to the next notch .
Adjusting head restraints r=>
page 56.
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head re
straints. Dr iv ing without head restraints or
w ith head restra ints that are not properly
adjusted increases the risk of serious or fa
tal neck injury dramat ically. To help reduce
the risk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- E very person in the veh icle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the ve
hicle properly adjusts their head re
straint . Adjust the head restraint so the
upper edge is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possi
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
that it is as close to this posit ion as pos
sible . Move the head restraint so that it
is as close to the back of the head as pos
sible.
- 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 .
- Ch ildr en mu st always be properly re
strained in a child restraint that is appro
priate for their age and sizer=>
page 173.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only re
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore
properly seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury o r death. Safety belts can only wo rk
whe n they are properly positioned on the
body. Improper seating positions reduce the
effectiveness of safety belts and wi ll even in
crease the risk of injury and death by moving
the safety be lt to critical areas of the body.
Improper seating positions also increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an a ir
bag deploys and str ikes an occupant who is
not in the proper s eating position . A dr iver is
responsible for the safety of all veh icle occu
pants and espec ially for children. The refore :
.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used r=>LQ. .
The following bulletins list only some sample pos itions 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 it ions that are dangerous.
Therefore , whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- never stand up i n the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
