Seat Belts in Hondas

At the New Car Clinic that I attended recently, Scott West, one of the service managers, explained a unique feature of Honda seat belts.

Scott West

Honda's seat belts have a special feature to make it safe to install carseats.  When you pull the seat belt all the way out, you hear the belt "ratchet" as it rolls back in.  At any point that you stop, the seat belt is locked in place and cannot be pulled forward again.  This was designed so that when you install a carseat, you first lock the seat into the latch system, then roll the seatbelt all the way out and tread it through the back of the car seat.

Once the seat belt is buckled and the slack is ratcheted back in, that seat belt is locked in place and will not move.

That is a great thing for every parent and grandparent to know.  But, Scott mentioned, it's important to know this for non-carseat using passengers as well.  Anytime you pull the seatbelt all the way out, the passenger will now be locked in place.  If you take a breath, the seatbelt moves a bit tighter.  Take another breath and it gets tighter still.  Parents have been know to cut their children out of the seat belt because the child is panicking.

That's not necessary, Scott points out, all you have to do is release the belt and let it all the way back in, the pull it out to buckle again, but don't pull it all the way.

Photo Courtesy: Automobilemag.com