Front seats—
—Front seat precautions
Seats
While the vehicle is being driven, all ve-
hicle occupants should have the seatback
upright, sit well back in the seat and prop-
erly wear the seat belts provided.
Driver seat
ꢀ Slightly recline the back of the
seat. Although vehicle designs vary,
many drivers can achieve the 250
mm (10 in.) distance, even with the
driver seat all the way forward, sim-
ply by reclining the back of the
seat somewhat. If reclining the back
of your seat makes it hard to see
the road, raise yourself by using a
firm, non−slippery cushion, or raise
the seat if your vehicle has that
feature.
CAUTION
The SRS driver airbag deploys with
considerable force, and can cause
death or serious injury especially if
the driver is very close to the airbag.
The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration “NHTSA” advises:
CAUTION
ꢀ Do not drive the vehicle unless the
occupants are properly seated. Do
not allow any passengers to sit on
top of a folded−down seatback, or
in the luggage compartment or car-
go area. Persons not properly
seated and/or not properly re-
strained by seat belts can be se-
verely injured in the event of emer-
gency braking or a collision.
Since the risk zone for driver airbag
is the first 50−75 mm (2−3 in.) of
inflation, placing yourself 250 mm (10
in.) from your diver airbag provides
ꢀ If your steering wheel is adjustable,
tilt it downward. This points the air-
bag toward your chest instead of
your head and neck.
you with
a
clear margin of safety.
This distance is measured from the
center of the steering wheel to your
breastbone. If you sit less than 250
mm (10 in.) away now, you can
change your driving position in sever-
al ways:
ꢀ During driving, do not allow any
passengers to stand up or move
around between seats. Otherwise,
severe injuries can occur in the
The seat should be adjusted as rec-
ommended by NHTSA above, while
still maintaining control of the foot
pedals, steering wheel, and your view
of the instrument panel controls.
event of emergency braking or
collision.
a
ꢀ Move your seat to the rear as far
as you can while still reaching the
pedals comfortably.
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