HONDA ODYSSEY 1998 User Guide

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 and
tailgate are closed and locked.
Your vehicle has a door and tailgate
monitor light on the instrument
panel to indicate when a specific
door or the tailgate is not tightly

closed.

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 the chance 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 70 for how to lock the
doors.
2.Adjust the Front Seats
Any driver who sits too close to thesteering 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.
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Protecting Adults

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 still maintaining full control of the
vehicle. Also make sure your front seat passenger moves their seat as
far to the rear as possible. Most shorter drivers can get far
enough away from the steering
wheel and still reach the pedals. However, if you are concerned about
sitting 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.

CONTINUED
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.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults
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.
4.Adjust the Head Restraints
Before driving, make sure everyone
with an adjustable head restraint has properly positioned the head
restraint. The restraint should be
positioned so the back of the occupant'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 you from whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page 76 for how to adjust the
head restraints.
Driver and Passenger Safety
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. 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.ProCarManuals.comMain 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 reducesthe 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. This
spreads the forces of a crash over
the strongest bones in your upper
body.

CONTINUED

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 you
drive.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

If the seat belt touches or crosses
your neck, or if it crosses your arm instead of your shoulder, you need to
adjust the seat belt anchor height.
An improperly positioned seat belt can cause severe neck injuries if the
belt is positioned too high, or serious chest or internal injuries if the belt is
positioned too low. To adjust the height of a front seat
belt anchor, squeeze the two release
buttons and slide the anchor up ordown as needed (it has four

positions).

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

Seven-passenger model only
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 your seat belt does not seem to
work as it should, it may not protect
you in a crash. Anyone using an inoperative seat belt can be seriously

injured or killed. No one should sit in
a seat with an inoperative seat belt.

Have your Honda dealer check the
belt as soon as possible. See page 40 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 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 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 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 be seriously 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.ProCarManuals.comMain 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 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
Never let passengers ride in the

cargo area or on top of a folded-
down back seat. All passengers

must sit in locked, upright seats
and be properly restrained by seat
belts.
Passengers should not stand up or
change seats while the vehicle is

moving. A passenger who is not
wearing a seat belt during a crash or emergency stop can be thrown
against the inside of the vehicle, against other occupants, or out of
the vehicle.
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

Driver and Passenger SafetyProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Adults

Do not place hard or sharp objects
between yourself and an airbag.

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.
Keep your hands and arms away
from the airbag covers. If your

hands or arms are close to the SRS
covers in the center of the steering wheel and on top of the
dashboard, they could be injured if
the airbags inflate.

Driver and Passenger SafetyProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t

Protecting Children

Children depend on adults to protect
them. However, despite their best
intentions, many parents and other adults do not know how to properly
protect young passengers.
So if you have children, or if you ever
need to drive with a grandchild or
other children in your vehicle, be
sure to read this section. All Children Must Be Restrained
Each year, many children are injuredor killed in vehicle crashes because
they are either unrestrained or not
properly restrained. In fact, vehicle accidents are the number one cause
of death of children ages 12 and
under.
To reduce the number of child deaths and injuries, every state and
Canadian province requires that
infants and children be restrained
whenever they ride in a vehicle.

Any child who is too small to wear a seat belt should be properly

restrained in a child seat. (See page
23.)
Larger children should always be restrained with seat belts. (See page 35.)

Driver and Passenger Safety

Children who are unrestrained
or improperly restrained can be
seriously injured or killed in a
crash.
Any child too small for a seat
belt should be properlyrestrained in a child seat.
Larger children should be
properly restrained with seat
belts.ProCarManuals.comMain Menu Table of Contents s t