2012 Honda Ridgeline Owner's Manual - Page 7

Important Handling Information Your vehicle has higher ground clearance than a passenger vehicle designed for use only on pavement. Higher ground clearance has many advantages for off-highway driving. It allows you to travel over bumps, obstacles, and rough terrain. It also provides good visibility so you can anticipate problems earlier. Your vehicle also has a relatively short wheelbase, allowing it to respond quicker to the steering wheel than other vehicles with a longer wheelbase. In addition to these characteristics, your vehicle's pickup bed area allows you to carry more cargo and has the dualaction tailgate to handle the items easily. 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 a significantly higher rollover rate than other types of vehicles. In a rollover crash, an unbelted person is significantly more likely to die than a person wearing a seat belt. As a reminder, make sure you and your passengers always wear seat belts. Overloading or improperly loading cargo could affect your handling and the vehicle's stability, and could result in a crash. Make sure the cargo is properly loaded and all items are secured in the pickup bed area. For information on how to reduce the risk of rollover, read ''Driving Guidelines'' on page 270 of this manual and the Off-Highway Driving Guidelines section on page 308 . Failure to operate your vehicle correctly might result in loss of control, a crash, or rollover. v