2021 HONDA RIDGELINE Owner's Manual (in English)

32
Safe Driving
For Safe Driving
The following pages explain your vehicle’s safety features and how to use them
properly. The safety precautions below are ones that we consider to be among the
most important.
Important Safety Precautions
■Always wear your seat belt
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.
■Restrain all children
Children ages 12 and under should ride properly restrained in a back seat, not the
front seat. Infants and small children shoul d be restrained in a child seat. Larger
children should use a booster seat and a lap/shoulder seat belt until they can use the
belt properly without a booster seat.
■Be aware of airbag hazards
While airbags can save lives, they can cause serious or fatal injuries to occupants
who sit too close to them, or are not prop erly restrained. Infants, young children,
and short adults are at the greatest risk. Be sure to follow all instructions and
warnings in this manual.
■Don’t drink and drive
Alcohol and driving don’t mix. Even one dr ink 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 friends drink and drive, either.
1Important Safety Precautions
Some states, provinces and te rritories prohibit the use
of cell phones other than hands-free devices by the
driver while driving.

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uuFor Safe Driving uImportant Safety Precautions
Safe Driving
■Pay appropriate attention to the task of driving safely
Engaging in cell phone conversation or other activities that keep you from 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 safe to
divert some attention away from driving.
■Control your speed
Excessive speed is a major factor 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 faster than is safe for current conditions, regardless of the maximum
speed posted.
■Keep your vehicle in safe condition
Having a tire blowout or a mechanical failure can be extremely hazardous.
To reduce the possibility of such problems, check your tire pressures and condition
frequently, and perform all regul arly scheduled maintenance.
■Never let passengers ride in the pickup bed or inside a truck cap (shell).
They could be killed or injured in a crash, or become ill or even die from carbon
monoxide poisoning if engine exhaust enters the cap.
■Do not leave children unattended in the vehicle
Children, pets and people needing assistan ce left unattended in the vehicle may be
injured if they activate one or more of the vehicle controls. They may also cause the
vehicle to move, resulting in a crash in wh ich they and/or another person(s) can be
injured or killed. Also, depending on the am bient temperature, the temperature of
the interior may reach extreme levels, which can result in harm or death.
Even if the climate control system is on, never leave them in the vehicle unattended
as the climate control system can shut off at any time.

34
uuFor Safe Driving uImportant Handling Information
Safe Driving
Important Handling Information
Your vehicle has higher ground clearance than a passenger vehicle designed for use
only on pavement. Higher ground clearance has many advantages for off-highway
driving. It allows you to travel over bumps, obstacles, and rough terrain. It also
provides good visibility so you can anticipate problems earlier.
These advantages come at some cost. Beca use your vehicle is taller and rides higher
off the ground, it has a higher center grav ity making it more susceptible to tipping
or roll over if you make abrupt turns. Utility vehicles have a significantly higher
rollover rate than other types of vehicles. In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is
significantly more likely to die than a pe rson wearing a seat belt. As a reminder,
make sure you and your passeng ers always wear seat belts.1Important Handling Information
For information on how to reduce the risk of rollover,
read:
2 Driving Guidelines for Your Utility Vehicle
P. 392
2 Off-Highway Driving Guidelines P. 383
Failure to operate your vehicle correctly might result
in a crash or a rollover.

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uuFor Safe Driving uYour Vehicle’s Safety Features
Safe Driving
Your Vehicle’s Safety Features
The following checklist will help you take an active role in protecting yourself and
your passengers.
1Your Vehicle’s Safety Features
Your vehicle is equipped wi th many features that
work together to help protect you and your
passengers during a crash.
Some features do not require any action on your part.
These include a strong steel framework that forms a
safety cage around the passenger compartment,
front and rear crush zone s, a collapsible steering
column, and tensioners that tighten the front seat
belts in a sufficient crash.
However, you and your passe ngers cannot take full
advantage of these features unless you remain seated
in the correct position and always wear your seat
belts. In fact, some safety features can contribute to
injuries if they are not used properly.
678910
Safety Cage
Crush Zones
Seats and Seat-Backs
Head Restraints
Collapsible Steering Column
Seat Belts
Front Airbags
Door Locks
Seat Belt Tensioners Side Curtain Airbags
11
6
7
8
8
9
10
10
11
7
Side Airbags
9
12
Outer Lap Pretensioners12

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uuFor Safe Driving uSafety Checklist
Safe Driving
Safety Checklist
For the safety of you and your passenge rs, make a habit of checking these items
each time before you drive.
• After everyone has entered the vehicle, be sure all doors are closed and locked.
Locking the doors helps prevent an occupant from being ejected and an outsider
from unexpectedly opening a door.
2 Locking/Unlocking the Doors from the Inside P. 127
•Adjust your seat to a position suitable for driving. Be sure the front seats are
adjusted as far to the rear as possible while allowing the driver to control the
vehicle. Sitting too close to a front airbag can result in serious or fatal injury in a
crash.
2 Seats P. 166
•Adjust head restraints to the proper position. Head restraints are most effective
when the center of the head restraint alig ns with the center of your head. Taller
persons should adjust their head restraint to the highest position.
2 Adjusting the front head restraint positions P. 171
•Always wear your seat belt, and make sure you wear it properly. Confirm that any
passengers are properly belted as well.
2 Fastening a Seat Belt P. 40
•Protect children by using seat belts or child seats according to a child’s age, height
and weight.
2 Child Safety P. 59
1Safety Checklist
If the door, trunk and/or tailgate open message
appears on the multi-inform ation display, the door,
the trunk and/or the tailgate is not completely closed.
Close all doors, the trunk and the tailgate tightly until
the message disappears. 2 Multi-Information Display Warning and
Information Messages P. 96

37Continued
Safe Driving
Seat Belts
About Your Seat Belts
Seat belts are the single most effective safety device because they keep you
connected to the vehicle so that you can take advantage of many built-in safety
features. They also help keep you from be ing thrown against the inside of the
vehicle, against any passengers, or out of the vehicle. When worn properly, seat
belts also keep your body properly positioned in a crash so that you can take full
advantage of the additional protection provided by the airbags.
In addition, seat belts help protect you in almost every type of crash, including:
- frontal impacts
- side impacts
- rear impacts
- rollovers
■Lap/shoulder seat belts
All five seating positions are equipped with lap/shoulder seat belts with emergency
locking retractors. In normal driving the retractor lets you move freely while keeping
some tension on the belt. During a collision or sudden stop the retractor locks to
restrain your body.
The front passenger’s and rear seat belts al so have a lockable retractor for use with
child seats.
2 Installing a Child Seat with a Lap/Shoulder Seat Belt P. 67
1About Your Seat Belts
If a front and/or rear seat passenger moves around
and extends the seat belt, the lockable retractor may
activate. If this happens, release the retractor by
unfastening the seat belt and allow the belt to retract
completely. Then refasten the belt.
If you extend the seat belt t oo quickly, it will lock in
place. If this happens, sli ghtly retract the seat belt,
then extend it slowly.
3WARNING
Not wearing a seat belt properly increases
the chance of serious injury or death in a
crash, even though your vehicle has
airbags.
Be sure you and your passengers always
wear seat belts and wear them properly.
3WARNING
Allowing passengers to ride in the pickup
bed or on the tailgate can result in death or
serious injury in a crash.
Make sure all passengers ride in a seat and
wear a seat belt properly.

uuSeat Belts uAbout Your Seat Belts
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Safe Driving
■Proper use of seat belts
Follow these guidelines for proper use:
• All occupants should sit upright, well back in the seat, and remain in that position
for the duration of the trip. Slouching and leaning reduc e the effectiveness of the
belt and can increase the chance of serious injury in a crash.
• Never place the shoulder part of a lap/shoulder seat belt under your arm or
behind your back. This could cause very serious injuries in a crash.
• Two people should never use the same seat belt. If they do, they could be very
seriously injured in a crash.
• Do not put any accessories on the seat be lts. Devices intended to improve comfort
or reposition the shoulder part of a seat be lt can reduce the protective capability
and increase the chance of serious injury in a crash.
The seat belt system includes an indicator on
the instrument panel to remind the driver or a
front passenger or both to fasten their seat
belts.
If you set the power mode to ON and a seat
belt is not fastened, a beeper will sound and
the indicator will blink. After a few seconds,
the beeper will stop and the indicator will
come on and remain illuminated until the seat
belt is fastened.
The beeper will periodically sound and the
indicator will blink while the vehicle is moving
until the seat belt is fastened.
■Seat Belt Reminder
1 About Your Seat Belts
Seat belts cannot complete ly protect you in every
crash. But in most cases, seat belts can reduce your
risk of serious injury.
Most states and all Canadian provinces and territories
require you to w ear seat belts.
The pickup bed is not equipp ed with seats or seat
belts. Do not let anyone ride in the pickup bed as they
can easily be thrown out and be killed or seriously
injured.
1 Seat Belt Reminder
The indicator will also co me on if a front passenger
does not fasten their seat be lt within six seconds after
the power mode is set to ON.
When no one is sitting in th e front passenger’s seat,
the indicator will not come on and the beeper will not
sound.
The indicator also may no t come on and the beeper
may not sound when the occupant is not heavy
enough to trigger the weight sensor. Such occupants
(e.g., infants and smaller children) should be moved
to the rear seat as a deploying front airbag likely will
injure or kill them. 2 Protecting Child Passengers P. 59

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uuSeat Belts uAbout Your Seat Belts
Safe DrivingThe front seats are equipped with automatic
seat belt tensioners to enhance safety.
The tensioners automatically tighten the front
seat belts during a moderate-to-severe frontal
collision, sometimes even if the collision is not
severe enough to inflate the front airbags.
■Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners1Automatic Seat Belt Tensioners
The seat belt tensioners can only operate once.
If a tensioner is activated, the SRS indicator will come
on. Have a dealer replace the tensioner and
thoroughly inspect the seat belt system as it may not
offer protection in a subsequent crash.
During a moderate-to-sev ere side impact, the
tensioner on that side of the vehicle also activates.