HONDA INSIGHT 2004 1.G User Guide

However, you and your passenger
can’t take f ull advantage of these
saf ety f eatures unless you remain
sitting in a proper position and
always wear your seat belts properly.
Infact,somesafetyfeaturescan
contribute to injuries if they are not
used properly.
The f ollowing pages explain how you
cantakeanactiveroleinprotecting
yourself and your passenger.Your vehicle is equipped with seat
belts in both seating positions.
When properly worn, seat belts:
Keep you connected to the vehicle
so you can take advantage of the
vehicle’s built-in saf ety f eatures.
Help protect you in almost every
type of crash, including f rontal,
side, and rear impacts and
rollovers. (Your airbag can only be
helpful in a moderate to severe
f rontal collision.)
Help keep you f rom being thrown
against the inside of the vehicle
and against another occupant.
Keep you f rom being thrown out
of the vehicle.
Help keep you in a good position
should the airbags ever deploy. A
good position reduces the risk of
injury f rom an inf lating airbag, and
allows you to get the best
advantage f rom the airbag.
Your seat belt system also includes
an indicator on the instrument panel
to remind you and your passenger to
f asten your seat belts.
Seat belts have proven to be the
single most ef f ective saf ety device.
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.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Seat Belts
Why Wear Seat Belt s
8

Of course, seat belts cannot
completely protect you in every
crash.Butinmostcases,seatbelts
can reduce your risk of serious
injury.
Always wear your seat belt, and
make sure you wear it properly.Your vehicle has a Supplemental
Restraint System (SRS) with frontal
airbags to help protect the heads and
chests of the driver and a passenger
during a moderate to severe frontal
collision (see page f or more
information on how your airbags
work).The most important things you need
to know about your airbags are:
They are designed to supplement
the seat belts.
To do
their job, airbags must inf late with
tremendous f orce. So while
airbags help save lives, they can
cause minor injuries or more
serious or even fatal injuries if
occupants are not properly
restrained or sitting properly.
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Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
What You Should Do: Airbags do not replace seat belts.
Airbags of f er no protection in sideimpact s, rear impact s, rollovers,or minor collisions.
A irbags can pose hazards.
Airbags
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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
passenger always wear seat
belts and wear them properly.

Always wear
your seat belt properly, and sit
upright and as f ar back f rom the
steering wheel while allowing f ull
control of the vehicle. A passenger
should move the seat as far back
f rom the dashboard as possible. The rest of this section gives more
detailed inf ormation about how you
can maximize your saf ety.
Remember however, that no saf ety
system can prevent all injures or
deaths that can occur in severe
crashes, even where seat belts are
properly worn and the airbags deploy.
Your Vehicle’s Saf ety Features
What you should do:
Driver and Passenger Saf ety10

The f ollowing pages provide
instructions on how to properly
protect the driver, adult passengers
and teenage children who are large
enough and mature enough to ride in
your vehicle.
See page f or important guidelines
on how to properly protect small
children and larger children who ride
in your vehicle.
Af ter everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors are closed
and locked.Your vehicle has a door monitor
indicator on the instrument panel to
indicate when either door or the
hatch is not tightly closed.
Locking the doors reduces the
chance of someone being thrown out
of the vehicle during a crash, and it
helps prevent a passenger f rom
accidentally opening a door and
f alling out.
Locking the doors also helps prevent
an outsider f rom unexpectedly
opening a door when you come to a
stop.
See page f or how to lock the
doors, and page f or how the
monitor indicator works.
Adjust the driver’s seat as far to the
rear as possible while allowing you to
maintain f ull control of the vehicle.
Have a passenger adjust his or her
seat as far to the rear as possible.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Introduction
Close and L ock the Doors Adjust the Seats
1. 2.
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If you sit too close to the steering
wheel or dashboard, you can be
seriously injured by an inf lating
airbag, or by striking the steering
wheel or dashboard.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration and Transport
Canada recommend that drivers
allow at least 10 inches (25 cm)
between the center of the steering
wheel and the chest.
If you cannot get f ar enough away
f rom the steering wheel and still
reach the controls, we recommend
that you investigate whether some
type of adaptive equipment may help.
Once your seat is adjusted correctly,
rock it back and f orth to make sure it
is locked into position. See pagefor how to adjust the seats. Adjust the driver’s seat-back to a
comf ortable, upright position,
leaving ample space between your
chest and the airbag cover in the
center of the steering wheel.
A passenger should also adjust the
seat-back to an comfortable, upright
position.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Adjust the Seat-Backs
3.
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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 while
allowing full control of the
vehicle.

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 f its snugly.
This lets your strong pelvic bonestake the force of a crash and reduces
the chance of internal injuries.
If necessary, pull up on the belt again
to remove any slack, then check that
the belt rests across the center of
your chest and over your shoulder.
This spreads the f orces of a crash
over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
Reclining a seat-back so that the
shoulder 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 f or how to adjust seat-
backs.
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Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Fasten and Position the L ap/
Shoulder Seat Belts
4.
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Improperly positioning the seat
belts can cause serious injury
or death in a crash.
Make sure all seat belts are
properly positioned before
driving.
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.

This could cause
very serious injuries in a crash.
If a seat belt does not seem to work
as it should, it may not protect the
occupant in a crash.
Using a seat
belt that is not working properly can
result in serious injury or death.
Have your Honda dealer check the
belt as soon as possible.
See page f or additional
inf ormation about your seat belts
and how to take care of them. 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
vehicle 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 f eet up, the
chance of injury during a crash is
greatly increased.
In addition, an occupant who is out of
position can be seriously or f atally
injured in a crash by striking interior
parts of the vehicle or being struck
by an inf lating airbag.
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Never place t he shoulder port ion of a
lap/shoulder belt under your arm orbehind your back.
No one should sit in a seat wit h aninoperat ive seat belt .
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Maintain a Proper Sitting
Position
5.
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Sitting improperly or out of
position can result in serious
injury or death.
Always sit upright, well back in
the seat, with your feet on the
floor.

If you are pregnant, the best way to
protect yourself and your unborn
child when driving or riding in a
vehicle is to always wear a seat belt,
and keep the lap part of the belt as
low as possible across the hips.When driving, remember to sit
upright and adjust the seat as f ar
back as possible while allowing f ull
control of the vehicle. When riding
as a passenger, adjust the seat as far
back as possible.
This will reduce the risk of injuries
to both you and your unborn child
that can be caused by a crash or an
inf lating airbag.
Each time you have a check-up, ask
your doctor if it’s okay f or you to
drive.
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Protecting A dults and Teens
Advice f or Pregnant Women
15

If they do, they
could be very seriously injured in a
crash.
Devices intended to improve
occupant comf ort or reposition the
shoulder part of a seat belt can
reduce the protective capability of
the seat belt and increase the
chance of serious injury in a crash.
Carrying hard or sharp objects on
your lap, or driving with a pipe or
other sharp object in your mouth,
can result in injuries if your
airbags inflate. If your
hands or arms are close to an
airbag cover, they could be injured
if the airbags inf late.
Objects on the
covers marked ‘‘SRS AIRBAG’’
could interf ere with the proper
operation of the airbags or be
propelled inside the vehicle and
hurt someone if the airbags inf late.
Protecting A dults and Teens
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Additional Saf ety Precautions
T wo people should never use t he
same seat belt .
Do not put any accessories on seatbelts.
Do not place hard or sharp object sbet ween yourself and an airbag. K eep your hands and arms away
f rom t he airbag covers.
Do not at t ach or place object s onthe airbag covers.
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Your seat belt system includes lap/
shoulder belts in both seating
positions. The seat belts are also
equipped with automatic seat belt
tensioners.The seat belt system
includes an indicator on the
instrument panel and a beeper to
remind you and your passenger to
f asten your belts.
If you turn the ignition switch to ON
(II) without f astening your belt, a
beeper will sound and the indicator
will f lash. If you do not f asten your
seat belt bef ore the beeper stops, the
indicator will stop f lashing but
remain on.
If you continue driving without
f astening your seat belt, the
indicator f lashes and the beeper
sounds again at regular intervals. The lap and shoulder belt goes over
your shoulder, across your chest,
and across your hips.
To fasten the belt, insert the latch
plate into the buckle, then tug on the
belt to make sure the buckle is
latched (see page f or how to
properly position the belt).
To unlock the belt, push the red
PRESSbuttononthebuckle.Guide
the belt across your body so that it
retracts completely. Af ter exiting the
vehicle, be sure the belt is out of the
way and will not get closed in the
door.
Both seat belts have an emergency
locking retractor. In normal driving,
the retractor lets you move f reely in
your seat while it keeps some
tensiononthebelt.
During a collision or sudden stop,
the retractor automatically locks thebelt to help restrain your body.
The passenger’s seat belt has an
additional locking mechanism that
must be activated to secure a child
seat (see page ).
If the shoulder part of the belt is
pulled all the way out, the locking
mechanism will activate. The belt
will retract, but it will not allow the
passenger to move f reely.
To deactivate the locking
mechanism, unlatch the buckle, and
let the seat belt f ully retract. To
ref asten the belt, pull it out only as
f ar as needed.
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Additional Inf ormation About Your Seat Belts
Driver and Passenger Saf ety
Seat Belt System Components L ap/Shoulder Belt
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