seats HONDA CIVIC COUPE 1998 Owners Manual

Driver and Passenger Safety

This section gives you important
information about how to protect

yourself and your passengers. It
shows you how to use seat belts

properly. It explains your Supple-
mental Restraint System. And it tells

you how to properly restrain infants
and children in your vehicle.

Important Safety Precautions .......... 4

Your Vehicle's Safety Features........ 5
Seat Belts........................................ 6
Airbags............................................ 7

Seats & Seat-Backs........................ 8

Head Restraints............................. 8

Door Locks..................................... 9

Pre-Drive Safety Checklist........... 9

Protecting Adults............................. 10

1. Close and Lock the Doors...... 10
2. Adjust the Front Seats............ 10
3. Adjust the Seat-Backs............. 11
4. Adjust the Head Restraints.... 12 5. Fasten and Position the Seat
Belts...................................... 13

6. Adjust the Steering Wheel..... 16
7. Maintain a Proper Sitting

Position................................. 16

Advice for Pregnant Women...... 17
Additional Safety Precautions.... 17
Pretecting Children......................... 19 All Children Must Be Restrained................................ 19
Children Should Sit in the Back

Seat............................................20

The Passenger's Airbag Poses Serious Risks to Children....... 20
If You Must Drive With Several Children.................................... 21 If A Child Requires Close
Attention................................... 22
Additional Safety Precaution...... 22
General Guidelines for Using Child Seats................................ 23
Protecting Infants........................ 27
Protecting Small Children.......... 31
Protecting Larger Children........ 35
Using Child Seats with
Tethers......................................38

Additional Information About Your
Seat Belts.................................. 40

Seat Belt System Components... 40
Lap/Shoulder Belt....................... 40
Lap Belt......................................... 41
Seat Belt Maintenance................ 42
Additional Information About Your
SRS............................................ 43

SRS Components......................... 43

How Your Airbags Work............ 43

How Your SRS Indicator Light
Works........................................45

SRS Service................................... 45

Additional Safety Precautions.... 46

Carbon Monoxide Hazard.............. 47

Safety Labels.................................... 48

Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu s t

Your Vehicle's Safety Features

Your vehicle is equipped with many
features that work together toprotect you and your passengersduring a crash.
Some safety features do not requireany action on your part. These
include a strong steel framework
that forms a safety cage around the
passenger compartment; front and rear crush zones that are designed to
crumple and absorb energy during a
crash; and a collapsible steering

column.

These safety features are designed to reduce the severity of injuries in a
crash. However, you and your
passengers can't take full advantage of these safety features unless you
remain sitting in a proper position

and always wear your seat belts

properly. In fact, some safety
features can contribute to injuries if they are not used properly.
Driver and Passenger Safety

(3)
(1)(4)
(8)
(5)(7)
(6)

(1) Safety Cage (2) Crush Zones
(3) Seats & Seats-Backs (4) Head Restraints
(5) Collapsible Steering Column (6) Seat Belts
(7) Airbags (8) Door Locks

(2)Main Menu Table of Contents s t

Your Vehicle's Safety Features
Seat Belts
For your safety, and the safety of
your passengers, your vehicle is equipped with seat belts in all seating
positions.
Your seat belt system alsoincludes a light on the
instrument panel to remind you and
your passengers to fasten your seat belts.

Why Wear Seat Belts

Seat belts are the single most
effective safety device for adults and
larger children. (Infants and smaller
children must be properly restrained
in child seats.)
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
though your vehicle has airbags. In addition, most states and all
Canadian provinces require you to
wear seat belts.
When properly worn, seat belts: Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle's built-in safety features. Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including side and
rear impacts and rollovers. (Your
airbags can only be helpful in severe frontal collisions.)
Help keep you from being thrown
against the inside of the car and
against other occupants.
Keep you from being thrown
outside of the car. Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of injury from an inflating airbag, and
allows you to get the best
advantage from the airbag.
Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash. But in most cases, seat belts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.

What you should do: Always wear

your sea t
belt, and make sure you
wear it properly.

Driver and Passenger Safety
Not wearing a seat belt properly
increases the chance of serious
injury or death in a crash, even
if you have airbags.
Be sure you and your
passengers always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.Main Menu Table of Contents s t

Your Vehicle's Safety Features
Seats & Seat-Backs
Your vehicle 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 seats' energy
absorbing materials.
How you adjust your seats and seat-
backs can also affect your safety. For example, sitting too close to the
steering wheel or dashboard
increases your risk of being injured
by striking the inside of the vehicle or being injured by an inflating

airbag.

Reclining a seat-back too far makes
your seat belt less effective and increases your chance of sliding
under the seat belt and being seriously injured in a crash. What you should do: Move the front
seats as far back as practical, and
keep adjustable seat-backs in an upright position whenever the
vehicle is moving.
Head Restraints
Head restraints can help protect you
from whiplash and other injuries. Formaximum protection, the back of
your head should rest against the center of the head restraint.

Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Your Vehicle's Safety Features
Door Locks
Keeping your doors locked reduces
the chance of being thrown out of
the vehicle 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 vehicle's safety
features, check the following eachtime before you drive away:
All adults, and children who haveoutgrown child safety seats, are
wearing their seat belts and
wearing them properly (see page 13).

Any infant or small child is properly restrained in a child seat
in the back seat (see page 19).
Front seat occupants are sitting as
far back as possible from the steering wheel and dashboard (see page 10). Seat-backs are upright (see page
11). Head restraints are properly
adjusted (see page 12).
Both doors are closed and locked (see page 10). All cargo is properly stored or
secured (see page 116).
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.

Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

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 childseats and are large enough to wear
lap/shoulder belts. (See page 35 for important additional guidelines on
how to properly protect larger
children.)
1 .Close and Lock the Doors
After everyone has entered the vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.

For safety, locking the doors reduces
the chance of a passenger, especially
a child, opening a door while the
vehicle is moving and accidentally falling out. It also reduces thechance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash. For security, locked doors can
prevent an outsider from
unexpectedly opening a door when
you come to a stop.
See page 68 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 being
seriously injured or killed by striking
the steering wheel or 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, andmove the seat as far back as possible
from the steering wheel while stillmaintaining full control of the car.
Also make sure your front seat
passenger moves their seat as far to
the rear as possible.
Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

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 forward and back to make sure the seat is locked in position.
See page 74 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 your chest and the airbag cover in the
center 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. If the passenger sits too
close to the dashboard, they could be
injured if the airbag inflates.
Reclining a seat-back so that the shoulder part of the belt no longer
rests against an occupant's chest
reduces the protective capability of
the belt. It also increases the chance of sliding under the belt and being
seriously injured in a crash. The
farther a seat-back is reclined, the greater the risk of injury.
See page 75 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

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 63 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, with their bodies well
back in their seats and both 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 puts one or both feet up, their chance of
injury during a crash is greatly
increased.

In addition, if an occupant is out of
position in the front seat, they can beseriously or fatally injured by
striking interior parts of the vehicle,
or by being struck by an inflating

airbag.
Remember, to get the best
protection from your vehicle'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 Children

Children Should Sit in the Back

Seat

According to accident statistics, children of all ages and sizes aresafer when they are restrained in the
back seat, not the front seat. The
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration recommends that all children age 12 and under ride in the
back seat, properly restrained.
In the back seat, children are less
likely to be injured by striking hard interior vehicle parts during a
collision or hard braking. Also,
children cannot be injured by an
inflating airbag when they ride in the
back.
The Passenger's Airbag Poses

Serious Risks to Children
Airbags have been designed to help protect adults in a severe frontalcollision. To do this, the passenger's
airbag is quite large, and it inflates

with tremendous speed.

Infants
Never put a rear-facing child seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's airbag. If the

airbag inflates, it can hit the back of
the child seat with enough force to
kill or very seriously injure an infant. Small Children

Placing a forward-facing child seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped
with a passenger's airbag can be

hazardous. If the vehicle seat is too
far forward, or the child's head is
thrown forward during a collision, an inflating airbag can strike the child
with enough force to kill or very seriously injure a small child.
Larger Children
Children who have outgrown child
seats are also at risk of being injured or killed by an inflating passenger

airbag. Whenever possible, larger

children should sit in the back seat,
properly restrained by a seat belt. (See page 35 for important
information about protecting larger
children.)
Driver and Passenger SafetyMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Children

U.S. Models
To remind you of the passenger airbag hazards, and that children
must be properly restrained in the
back seat, your vehicle has warning
labels on the dashboard and on thedriver's and front passenger's visors.Please read and follow the
instructions on these labels. If You Must Drive With Several
Children
Your vehicle has three seating positions in the back seat wherechildren can be properly restrained.
If you ever have to carry more than
three children in your vehicle:
Place the largest child in the frontseat, provided the child is large
enough to wear a seat belt
properly (see page 35).
Move the vehicle seat as far to the
rear as possible (see page 10).
Have the child sit upright and well
back in the seat (see page 16). Make sure the seat belt is properly
positioned and secured (see page 13).

Driver and Passenger Safety

Children Can Be KILLED or INJURED
by Passenger Airbag

The back seat is the safest place for children 12 and under. Make sure all children use seat belts or child seats.Main Menu Table of Contents s t