2002 Honda Accord Owner's Manual - Page 9

Your Car's Safety Features Airbags do not replace seat belts. They are designed to supplement the seat belts. Airbags offer no protection in rear impacts, rollovers, or minor frontal or side collisions. Airbags can pose serious hazards. Seats & Seat-Backs Your car's seats are designed to keep you in a comfortable, upright position so you can take full advantage of the protection offered by seat belts and the energy absorbing materials in the seats. How you adjust your seats and seatbacks can also affect your safety. For example, sitting too close to the steering wheel or dashboard increases the risk of you or your passenger being injured by striking the inside of the car, or by an inflating airbag. Reclining a seat-back too far reduces the seat belt's effectiveness and increases the chance that the seat's occupant will slide under the seat belt in a crash and be seriously injured. What you should do: Move the front seats as far back as possible, and keep adjustable seat-backs in an upright position whenever the car is moving. To do their job, airbags must inflate with tremendous force and speed. So while airbags help save lives, they can cause minor injuries, or more serious or even fatal injuries if occupants are not properly restrained or sitting properly. What you should do: Always wear Head Restraints Head restraints can help protect you from whiplash and other injuries. For maximum protection, the back of your head should rest against the center of the head restraint. Door Locks Keeping your doors locked reduces the chance of being thrown out of the car during a crash. It also helps prevent occupants from accidentally opening a door and falling out, and outsiders from unexpectedly opening your doors. your seat belt properly, and sit upright and as far back as possible from the steering wheel or dashboard. 10 Driver and Passenger Safety