Page 54 HONDA PASSPORT 2000 2.G Owners Manual

Importan
t Handlin g Informatio n
Your Passport has higher ground clearance than a passenger car designed for use only on pavement. Higher
ground clearance has many advantages for off-road driving. It allows you to travel over bumps, obstacles, and
rough terrain. It also provides good visibility so you can anticipate problems earlier.
These advantages come at some cost. Because your vehicle is taller and rides higher off the ground, it has a high center of gravity. This means your vehicle can tip or roll over if you make abrupt turns. Utility vehicles have asignificantly higher rollover rate than other types of vehicles. In a rollover crash, an unbelted person issignificantly more likely to die than a person wearing a seat belt. As a reminder, make sure you and your
passengers always wear seat belts.
For information on how to reduce the risk of rollover, read "Driving Guidelines" on page 139 of this manual and the Off-Road Driving Information booklet that came with your vehicle. Failure to operate this vehicle correctly
may result in loss of control or an accident.
Preface

Importan
t Safet y Precaution s
You'll find many safety
recommendations throughout this section, and throughout this
manual. The recommendations on
this page are the ones we consider
to be the most important.
Alway s Wea r You r Sea t Bel t
A seat belt is your best protection in all types of collisions. Airbags
supplement seat belts, but airbags
are designed to inflate only in a
moderate to severe frontal
collision. So even though your
vehicle is equipped with airbags, make sure you and your
passengers always wear your seat belts, and wear them properly. (See page 13.)
Restrai n All Childre n
Children are safest when they are
properly restrained in the back seat, not the front seat. A child
who is too small for a seat belt must be properly restrained in a
child safety seat. (See page 18.)
B e Awar e o f Airba g Hazard s
While airbags save lives, they can
cause serious or fatal injuries to
occupants who sit too close to
them, or are not properly
restrained. Infants, young children, and short adults are atthe greatest risk. Be sure to follow
all instructions and warnings in
this manual. (See page 7.)
Don' t Drin k an d Driv e
Alcohol and driving don't mix.
Even one drink can reduce your ability to respond to changing
conditions, and your reaction time
gets worse with every additional
drink. So don't drink and drive,
and don't let your friends drinkand drive either. Contro
l You r Spee d
Excessive speed is a major factor in crash injuries and deaths.
Generally, the higher the speed
the greater the risk, but serious
accidents can also occur at lowerspeeds. Never drive faster than is
safe for current conditions,
regardless of the maximum speed

posted.

Kee p You r Vehicl e i n Saf e
Conditio n
Having a tire blowout or a
mechanical failure can be
extremely hazardous. To reduce the possibility of such problems,
check your tire pressure and
condition frequently, and perform
all regularly scheduled
maintenance. (See page 187.)
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Doo
r Lock s
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-Driv e Safet y Checklis t
To make sure you and your
passengers get the maximum
protection from your vehicle'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 13). Any infant or small child is
properly restrained in a child seat in the back seat (see page
18).

Front seat occupants are sitting
upright and 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).
All doors and the tailgate are closed and locked (see page
10).

All cargo is properly stored or secured (see page 171). The rest of this section gives more
detailed information about how
you can maximize your safety.
Remember, however, that no
safety system can prevent all
injuries or deaths that can occur in severe crashes, even when seat
belts are properly worn and the
airbags deploy.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Protectin
g Adult s
Introductio n

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 33
for important additional
guidelines on how to properly
protect larger children.)
1 . Clos e an d Loc k th e Door s
After everyone has entered the
vehicle, be sure the doors and tailgate are closed and locked.
For safety, locking the doors
reduces the chance that a
passenger, especially a child, will open a door while the vehicle is
moving and accidentally fall 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 100 for how to lock the

doors.
2
. Adjus t th e Fron t Seat s
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
from being struck by the inflatingairbag during a crash.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

To reduce the chance of injury,
wear your seat belt properly, sit
upright with your back against theseat, and move 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 the 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 concernedabout sitting 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 89 for how to adjust the
front seats.
3
. Adjus t th e Seat-Back s

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
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y

Sitting too close to the airbag
can result in serious injury or
death if the airbags inflate.
Always sit as far back from the
airbags as possible.

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 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 seriouslyinjured. The farther a seat-back is
reclined, the greater the risk of injury.
See page 89 for how to adjust

seat-backs.
4
. Adjus t th e Hea d Restraint s

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.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet yReclining 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.

Properly adjusted head restraints
will help protect occupants from
whiplash and other crash injuries.
See page 90 for how to adjust the
head restraints.
5
. Faste n an d Positio n th e

Sea t Belt s
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.
This spreads the forces of a crash over the strongest bones in your
upper body.
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
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.
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.

into the buckle, and tug on the
belt to make sure the belt is
securely latched.
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 38 for additional
information

about your seat belt
system and how to take care of
your

belts. 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 provides optimal
protection from the airbag.
See page 111 for how to adjust the
steering

wheel.
Driver and Passenger Safety

Protectin
g Childre n

Children depend on adults to
protect them. However, despite their best intentions, many parents
and other adults may 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.
Al
l Childre n Mus t B e

Restraine d

Each year, many children are injured or 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
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 21.)

A larger child should always be
restrained with a seat belt. (See

page 33.)

Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y
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. A
larger child should be properly
restrained with a seat belt.

Childre
n Shoul d Si t i n th e
Bac k Sea t
According to accident statistics,
children of all ages and sizes are safer when they are restrained in
the back seat, not the front seat.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
recommends that all children ages 12 and under be properly
restrained in the back seat.
In the back seat, children are lesslikely to be injured by striking
hard interior parts during a
collision or hard braking. Also,
children cannot be injured by an inflating airbag when they ride in
the back.
Th
e Passenger' s Airba g

Pose s Seriou s Risk s t o

Childre n

Airbags have been designed to
help protect adults in a moderate to severe frontal collision. 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 inflatingairbag can strike the child with
enough force to kill or very seriously injure a small child.
Larger Children Children who have outgrownchild seats are also at risk of
being injured or killed by an
inflating passenger's airbag.
Whenever possible, larger
children should sit in the back seat, properly restrained with a
seat belt. (See page 33 for
important information about
protecting larger children.)
Drive r an d Passenge r Safet y