1998 Honda Prelude 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 recommends that all children ages 12 and under ride in the back seat, properly restrained. In the 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 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 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 the back seat, properly restrained with a seat belt. (See page 35 for important information about protecting larger children.) Driver and Passenger Safety