HONDA CIVIC COUPE 1999 User Guide

Your Car's Safety Features

Seats & Seat-Backs
Your car's seats are designed to keep
you in a comfortable, upright position so you can take full
advantage of the protection offered
by seat belts and the energy absorbing materials in the seats.
How you adjust your seats and seat-
backs can also affect your safety. For example, sitting too close to thesteering wheel or dashboard
increases the risk of you or your
passenger being injured by striking
the inside of the car, or by an
inflating airbag.
Reclining a seat-back too far reduces
the seat belt's effectiveness and increases the chance that the seat's
occupant will slide under the seat
belt in a crash and be seriously
injured.
What you should do: Move the front

seats as far back as possible, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an
upright position whenever the car is

moving.

Head Restraints
Head restraints can help protect you
from whiplash and other injuries. For maximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the center of the head restraint.
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Your Car's Safety Features
Door Locks
Keeping your doors locked reduces
the chance of being thrown out of
the car during a crash. It also helps
prevent occupants from accidentally opening a door and falling out, and
outsiders from unexpectedly opening
your doors. Pre-Drive Safety Checklist
To make sure you and your passengers get the maximum
protection from your car's safety
features, check the following each time before you drive away: All adults, and children who have
outgrown child safety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and wearing them properly (see page 15).
Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat

in the back seat (see page 21). Front seat occupants are sitting
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel and dashboard (see page 12). Seat-backs are upright (see page
13). Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 14). Both doors are closed and locked
(see page 12). All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 132).
The rest of this section gives more detailed information about how you
can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no safetysystem can prevent all injuries or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even when seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.

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Protecting Adults

Introduction
The following pages provide instructions on how to properly
protect the driver and other adult
occupants.

These instructions also apply to children who have outgrown child
seats and are large enough to wear
lap/shoulder belts. (See page 37 for important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect largerchildren.)
1.Close and Lock the Doors
After everyone has entered the car, be sure the doors are closed and
locked.

Your car has a door monitor light on the instrument panel to indicate
when a specific door is not tightly
closed.

For safety, locking the doors reduces
the chance that a passenger, especially a child, will open a door
while the car is moving and accidentally fall out. It also reduces
the chance of someone being thrown out of the car during a crash.
For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider fromunexpectedly opening a door when
you come to a stop. See page 70 for how to lock the

doors.

2.Adjust the Front Seats Any driver who sits too close to the
steering wheel is at risk of beingseriously injured or killed by striking
the steering wheel, or from being struck by an inflating airbag during a

crash.

To reduce the chance of injury, wear your seat belt properly, sit upright
with your back against the seat, and move the seat as far back as possible
from the steering wheel while still maintaining full control of the car.
Also make sure your front seat passenger moves the seat as far to
the rear as possible.

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Protecting Adults

Most shorter drivers can get far
enough away from the steering
wheel and still reach the pedals. However, if you are concerned aboutsitting too close, we recommend that
you investigate whether some type of adaptive equipment may help.
Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and forth to make sure
the seat is locked in position.
See page 76 for how to adjust the
front seats. 3.Adjust the Seat-Backs
Adjust the driver's seat-back to a comfortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between yourchest and the airbag cover in thecenter of the steering wheel. If you
sit too close to the steering wheel,
you could be injured if the airbag inflates.
A front passenger should also adjust the seat-back to an upright position,
but as far from the dashboard as possible. A passenger who sits too
close to the dashboard could be
injured if the airbag inflates.
Reclining a seat-back so that theshoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against the occupant's chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance of sliding under the belt in a crash
and being seriously injured. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the greater the risk of injury.
See page 77 for how to adjust seat-

backs.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Sitting too close to an airbag
can result in serious injury or death if the airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
airbags as possible.
Reclining the seat-back too far
can result in serious injury or
death in a crash.
Adjust the seat-back to an
upright position and sit well

back in the seat.Main Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

4.Adjust the Head Restraints
Before driving, make sure everyone
with an adjustable head restraint has
properly positioned the head restraint. The restraint should bepositioned so the back of theoccupant's head rests against the
center of the restraint. A taller
person should adjust the restraint as
high as possible. Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants from
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page 77 for how to adjust the
head restraints.

Driver and Passenger Safety
Improperly positioning head
restraints reduces their
effectiveness and you can be
seriously injured in a crash.
Make sure head restraints are
in place and positioned properly
before driving.Main Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

5.Fasten and Position the Seat Belts

Using a Lap/Shoulder Belt

Insert the latch plate into the buckle,
then tug on the belt to make sure the
belt is securely latched. Also check
that the belt is not twisted, because a
twisted belt can cause serious
injuries in a crash.
Position the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across your hips,
then pull up on the shoulder part of
the belt so the lap part fits snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bones take the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries. If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove any slack from the
shoulder part, then check that the
belt rests across the center of your chest and over your shoulder. Thisspreads the forces of a crash over
the strongest bones in your upper
body.

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Driver and Passenger Safety

Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.

Make sure all seat belts are

properly positioned before
driving.Main Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Never place the shoulder portion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back. This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash. Using the Lap Belt

Insert the latch plate into the buckle
marked CENTER. If the belt is too short, hold the latch
plate at a right angle and pull on the
plate to extend the belt. Then insert
the latch plate into the buckle, and
tug on the belt to make sure the belt is securely latched.
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Protecting Adults

Position the belt as low as possible
across your hips. This lets your
strong pelvic bones take the force of
a crash and reduces the chance of
internal injuries.
Pull on the loose end of the belt for a snug but comfortable fit. If a Seat Belt Doesn't Work
Properly
If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the

occupant in a crash. No one should

sit in a seat with an inoperative seat

belt. Anyone using a seat belt that is
not working properly can be seriously injured or killed. Have your
Honda dealer check the belt as soon

as possible.
See page 42 for additional
information about your seat belt
system and how to take care of your
belts.
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Protecting Adults

6.Adjust the Steering Wheel
Adjust the steering wheel, if needed, so that the wheel points toward your
chest, not toward your face.

Pointing the steering wheel toward

your face decreases the protective capability of the driver's airbag.
See page 65 for how to adjust the

steering wheel.
7.Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
After all occupants have adjusted their seats and put on seat belts, it is
very important that they continue to sit upright, well back in their seats,
with their feet on the floor, until the car is parked and the engine is off.
Sitting improperly can increase the
chance of injury during a crash. For
example, if an occupant slouches,
lies down, turns sideways, sits
forward, leans forward or sideways, or puts one or both feet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased.
In addition, an occupant who is out of
position in the front seat can be seriously or fatally injured by
striking interior parts of the car, or
by being struck by an inflating airbag. Remember, to get the best
protection from your car's airbags and other safety features, you must
sit properly and wear your seat belt
properly.
Driver and Passenger Safety Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death in a crash.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the

floor.Main Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Advice for Pregnant Women
Because protecting the mother is the
best way to protect her unborn child,
a pregnant woman should always

wear a seat belt whenever she drives or rides in a vehicle.
We recommend that pregnant
women use a lap/shoulder belt

whenever possible. Remember to
keep the lap portion of the belt as
low as possible across your hips. Pregnant women should also sit
upright and as far back as possible
from the steering wheel or dashboard. This will reduce the risk
of injuries to both the mother and
her unborn child that can be caused
by a crash or an inflating airbag.
Each time you have a check-up, ask
your doctor if it's okay for you to drive. Additional Safety Precautions
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 seat

belts. Devices intended to improve
occupant comfort or reposition the shoulder part of a seat belt, can
severely compromise the
protective capability of seat belts
and increase the chance of serious
injury in a crash.

CONTINUED

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