belt HONDA ODYSSEY 1998 User Guide

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
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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

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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

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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
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Protecting Children

Children Should Sit in the Back

Seat

According to accident statistics, children of all ages and sizes are
safer when they are restrained in a
back seat, not the front seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration recommends that all children ages 12 and under ride in a
back seat, properly restrained.
In a 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 a back seat,
properly restrained with a seat belt. (See page 35 for important
information about protecting larger
children.)
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Protecting Children

(U.S. models only)
To remind you of the passenger airbag hazards, and that children
must be properly restrained in a
back seat, your vehicle has warning
labels on the dashboard and on the driver'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 two rows of back seats where children can be properly

restrained.

If you ever have to carry a group of
children (when car-pooling for
example), and a child must ride in
front: Place the largest child in the front
seat, 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).

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Protecting Children

3. The child seat should fit the vehicle seating position (or
positions) where it will be used.
Due to variations in the design of
child seats, vehicle seats, and seat
belts, all child seats will not fit all
vehicle seating positions.
However, Acura is confident that oneor more child seat models can fit and
be properly installed in all
recommended seating positions in
your vehicle. Whenever possible, we recommend
that parents test a child seat in thespecific vehicle seating position (or
positions) where they intend to use the seat before making a purchase. If
a previously purchased child seatdoes not fit, you may need to buy a
different one that will fit.
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