2000 Honda Accord Owner's Manual - Page 21

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 the back seat, not the front seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transport Canada recommend 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 Front Airbag Poses Serious Risks to Children Front airbags have been designed to help protect adults in a moderate to severe frontal collision. To do this, the passenger's front 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 front airbag. If Small Children Placing a forward-facing child seat in the front seat of a vehicle equipped with a passenger's front 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 front 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 front airbag. Whenever possible, the airbag inflates, it can hit the back of the child seat with enough force to kill or very seriously injure an infant. larger children should sit in the back seat, properly restrained with a seat belt. (See page 34 for important information about protecting larger children.) Driver and Passenger Safety