HONDA PASSPORT 2002 2.G Owner's Manual

Driver and Passenger Safety18
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.
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 properly
restrained in a child seat. A
larger child should be properly
restrained with a seat belt.
All Children Must Be
Restrained
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 22.)
A larger child should always be
restrained with a seat belt. (See
page 34.)
Additional Precautions to
Parents•Never hold an infant or child
on your lap. If you are not
wearing a seat belt in a crash,
you could be thrown forward
into the dashboard and crush
the child.
Protecting Children

Driver and Passenger Safety19
If you are wearing a seat belt,
the child can be torn from your
arms. For example, if your
vehicle crashes into a parked
vehicle at 30 mph (48 km/h), a
20 lb (9 kg) infant will become
a 600 lb (275 kg) force, and
you will not be able to hold on.
•Never put a seat belt over
yourself and an infant or
child. During a crash, the belt
could press deep into the child
and cause very serious injuries.
Children Should Sit in the
Back Seat
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 less
likely 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.
The Passenger ’s Airbag
Poses Serious Risks to
Children
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.

Driver and Passenger Safety20
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 ’s airbag.
Whenever possible, larger
children should sit in the back
seat, properly restrained with a
seat belt. (See page 34 for
important information about
protecting larger children.) To remind you of the passenger
’s
airbag hazards, and that children
must be properly restrained in the
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 three seating
positions in the back seat where
children can be properly
restrained.
If you ever have to carry more
than three children in your
vehicle:
•Place the largest child in the
front seat, provided the child is
large enough to wear a seat belt
properly (see page 34).
•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 21
If a Child Requires Close
Attention
Many
parents say they prefer to
put an infant or small child in the
front passenger seat so they can
watch the child, or because the
child requires attention.
Placing a child in the front seat
exposes the child to hazards from
the airbag, and paying close
attention to a child distracts the
driver from the important tasks of
driving, placing both of you at
risk.
If a child requires physical
attention or frequent visual
contact, we strongly recommend
that another adult ride with the
child in the back seat. The back
seat is far safer for a child than the
front.
Additional Safety
Precautions
• Use child-safe door locks to
prevent children from opening
the doors. Using this feature
will prevent children from
opening the doors and
accidentally falling out (see
page 105).
•Use the main power window
switch to prevent children
from opening the rear
windows. Using this feature
will prevent children from
playing with the windows,
which could expose them to
hazards or distract the driver
(see page 107).
•Do not leave children alone in
your vehicle. Leaving children
without adult supervision is
illegal in most states and can be
very hazardous. For example,
infants and small children left
in a vehicle on a hot day can
die from heat stroke. And
children left alone with the key
in the ignition can accidentally
set the vehicle in motion,
possibly injuring themselves or
others.
•Keep vehicle keys and remote
transmitters out of the reach
of children. Even very young
children learn how to unlock
vehicle doors, turn on the
ignition, and open the tailgate,
which can lead to accidental
injury or death.

Driver and Passenger Safety22
General Guidelines for
Using Child Seats
The
following pages give general
guidelines for selecting and
installing child seats for infants
and small children.
Selecting a Child Seat
To provide proper protection,
a child seat should meet three
requirements:
1. The child seat should meet
safety standards. The child
seat should meet Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
213 (
FMVSS 213). Look for
the manufacturer’s statement
of compliance on the box and
seat.
2. The child seat should be of
the proper type and size to fit
the child.
Infants: Children up to about one
year old should be restrained in a
rear-facing, reclining child seat.
Only a rear-facing seat provides
the proper support to protect an
infant’s head, neck, and back. See
page 26 for additional information
on protecting infants.
Small Children: A child who is
too large for a rear-facing child
seat, and who can sit up without
support, should be restrained in a
forward-facing child seat. See
page 31 for additional information
on protecting small children.
3. The child seat should fit the
vehicle seating position (or
positions) where it will be
used.

Driver and Passenger Safety23
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, Honda is confident that
one or more child seat models can
fit and be properly installed in all
recommended seating positions in
your vehicle.
Before purchasing a child seat, we
recommend that parents test the
child seat in the specific vehicle
seating position (or positions)
where they intend to use the seat.
If a previously purchased child
seat does not fit, you may need to
buy a different one that will fit.

Driver and Passenger Safety24
Placing a Child Seat
This page briefly summarizes
Honda’s recommendations on where
to place rear-facing and forward-
facing child seats in your vehicle.
Airbags Pose Serious
Risks to Children
The passenger’s airbag inflates
with enough force to kill or
seriously injure an infant in a
rear-facing child seat.
A small child in a forward-
facing child seat is also at risk.
If the vehicle seat is too far
forward, or the child’s head is
thrown forward during a
collision, an inflating airbag can
kill or seriously injure the child.
If a small child must ride in the
front, follow the instructions
provided in this section. Front Passenger’s Seat
Infants:
Never in the front seat,
due to the passenger’s airbag
hazard.
Small children: Not
recommended, due to the
passenger’s airbag hazard. If a
small child must ride in front,
move the vehicle seat to the
rear-most position and secure a
front-facing child seat with the
seat belt (see page 31).
Back Seats
Infants: Recommended positions.
Properly secure a rear-facing child
seat (see page 27).
Small children: Recommended
positions. Properly secure a
front-facing child seat (see page
31).

Driver and Passenger Safety 25
Installing a Child Seat
After selecting a proper child seat,
and a good position to install the
seat, there are three main steps to
installing the seat:
1. Properly secure the child seat
to the vehicle. All child seats
are designed to be secured to
the vehicle with the lap part of
a lap/shoulder belt. Some
child seats can be secured to
the vehicle’s LATCH
anchorage system instead. A
child whose seat is not
properly secured to the vehicle
can be endangered in a crash.
See pages 34, 38, and 39 for
instructions on how to
properly secure child seats in
this vehicle. 2.
Make sure the child seat is
firmly secured. After
installing a child seat, push
and pull the seat forward and
from side to side to verify that
it is secure.
To provide security during normal
driving maneuvers, as well as
during a collision, we recommend
that parents secure a child seat as
firmly as possible. However, a child seat does not
need to be “rock solid.” In some
vehicles or seating positions, it
may be difficult to install a child
seat so that it does not move at all.
Some side-to-side or back-and-
forth movement can be expected
and should not reduce the child
seat’
s effectiveness.
If the child seat is not secure, try
installing it in a different seating
position, or use a different style of
child seat that can be firmly
secured in the desired seating
position.

Driver and Passenger Safety26
3.Secure the child in the child
seat. Make sure the child is
properly strapped in the child
seat according to the child seat
maker ’ s instructions. A child
who is not properly secured in
a child seat can be thrown out
of the seat in a crash and
seriously injured.
Storing a Child Seat
When you are not using a child
seat, either remove it and store it
in a safe place, or make sure it is
properly secured. An unsecured
child seat can be thrown around
the vehicle during a crash or
sudden stop and injure someone.Protecting Infants
Child Seat Type
Only a rear-facing child seat
provides proper support for a
baby’ s head, neck, and back.
Infants up to about one year of
age must be restrained in a
rear-facing child seat.
Two types of seats may be used:
a seat designed exclusively for infants, or a convertible seat used
in the rear-facing reclining mode.
Placing a rear-facing child seat
in the front seat can result in
serious injury or death if the
airbags inflate.
Always place a rear-facing child
seat in the back seat, not the
front.
We recommend that an infant be
restrained in a rear-facing child
seat until the infant reaches the
seat maker
’s weight or height
limit and is able to sit up without
support.

Driver and Passenger Safety 27
Rear-Facing Child Seat
Placement
In this vehicle, a rear-facing child
seat can be placed in any seating
position in the back seat, but not
in the front seat.
Never put a rear-facing child
seat in the front seat. If the
passenger’s airbag inflates, it can
hit the back of the child seat with
enough force to kill or seriously
injure an infant. If an infant must
be closely watched, we
recommend that another adult sit
in the back seat with the baby.
Do not put a rear-facing child
seat in a forward-facing position.
If placed facing forward, an infant
could be very seriously injured
during a frontal collision. When properly installed, a rear-
facing child seat may prevent a
driver or a front seat passenger
from moving the seat as far back
as recommended (see page 10).
Or it may prevent them from
locking the seat-back in the
desired upright position (see page
11).
In either case, we recommend that
you place the child seat directly
behind the front passenger seat,
move the front seat as far forward
as needed, and leave it
unoccupied. You may also wish to
get a smaller child seat that allows
you to safely carry a front
passenger.
Installing a Rear-Facing Child
Seat With a Lap/Shoulder Belt
The lap/shoulder belts in the outer
back seats have a locking
mechanism that must be activated
to secure a child seat.
The following pages provide
instructions on how to secure a
rear-facing child seat with this
type of seat belt.
See page 30 for how to secure a
rear-facing child seat in the center
back seat with the lap belt. For
tips on installing an infant seat
with either type of seat belt, see
page 31.