this post was submitted on 29 Nov 2025
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Knives are definitely easy. I still stand by my seatbelt cutter though; I was once in an accident, I was unconscious for a bit, concussed, airbags, smoke coming in, etc. No one was close, I was too fucked up to figure out the seatbelt, but I remembered my cutter on the door panel. Could a knife have done it? Yes. Was I in a state where I could safely handle a knife without hurting myself? Probably not. I wouldn't recommend a cutter as an emt tool, but as a driver I'll always keep mine.
I'm not speaking from an occupants perspective. I'm only chiming to provide some added context to the articles claims of the cutters primarily only being useful for rescue personnel.
I will say that the chances where a person crashes, and no one else is around, and the vehicle is on fire or there's a reason the occupant should leave the seat after a severe crash, and the cutter would stay reachable, is very, very rare. Vehicles almost never catch on fire from crashes. Beyond that, unless you're in BFE without a phone or anyone else around, it's usually best you stay in place.
Oh, yes. I know my accident was like maybe a third of a percentage point of all accidents. Even then, my car didn't fully ignite, just smoke, I just didn't know what was and wasn't going on. But you're right, the article is weird about the EMT bit.