cutting seatbelts?!

N

notos&w

Joined
Jul 17, 2002
Messages
650
on these forums there is a lot about the use of knives and many, if not most, mention emergency uses, particularly defense and cutting seat belts. some people even mention carrying two knives so the emergency one will be razor sharp. im not saying there is anything wrong with this.
but my question is:
how many people here actually have used a knife to cut a seatbelt? and in most circumstances cant you just undo it at the buckle? seems to me there are a lot better reasons to carry a knife than cutting a seat belt, a task most any decent knife can do. so why is this use one of the most frequently mentioned? is it just a cool image or does this task require something special out of knife that im not aware of?

again, im not knocking anyone for carrying two knives (or more) for whatever reason, just curious as to why this one use, which seems so remote and obscure, takes such precedent in discussion.
 
I have cut many many seatbealts. I use a benchmade #5 rescue hook. Works like a champ and is good at cutting open/off denim jeans and clothes of all kinds. Don't know why other people worry with it, it's part of my job. I also have a window punch in both vehicles and i usually carry one on me, as well as NEVER being without a flashlight. I pack a gun a lot too(not at work), maybe I'm just paranoid:p ;) :D
 
Fortunately I have never had to cut a seatbelt. I am sure that most of the EMT, LEO, and Firemen that frequent the forum have. You can’t always reach the buckle on a smashed and twisted vehicle. Seatbelt material is tough and a good quality blade is an invaluable tool in freeing someone.
 
One of our members found himself with his family upside-down in a car all hanging by their seatbelts. He was injured and the rest of his family was injured worse. He managed to get to a khukuri and cut himself loose and crawl around the car and cut everybody else loose and got them all out of the car before it went up in flames. He might have been able to unbuckle them if he could have reached the buckles....
 
I never have had to cut a seatbelt , but i figure if I'm in an emergeny its going to be in a car or a fight . So thats why i mentioned it. I have a mod auto with a seat belt cutter and a window breaker.So if I'm trapped in a car on railroad tracks or underwater or hanging off a brige. I will feel better knowing i have something I can rely on :)
 
Most of the responses concerning cutting seat belts are made by emergency response personell or law enforcement personell.
Many times when someone arrives at a wreck, the responders want to get seat belts off without having to move the injured peron around in order to be able to get to the buckle. Cutting the belt is the quickest and easiest on the injured person a lot of the time. There are also times that you just cannot feasibly get to the buckle due to the damage on the vehicle and the victim being squeezed into a small space.
 
I'm always carrying 3 knives(unless I'm somewhere that by law I can't carry), and if I'm awake I have my flashlight on me.

Being fully ambidexterous, I no longer think about grabbing something with a certain hand. I just grab with whichever is more convenient, and cut with the other. Packing a small folder on a neck rig allows ambi access to a sheeple blade to not offend by using a 4" at all times(such as cleaning nails).

I never let a knife get dull to the point that I have to wonder if it's going to cut or not. Any difference in preformance means it gets a touchup.
 
I have been the first on scene at many devastating car wrecks and I always find that the buckle is not accessed easily with out risk to myself or the patient. I use a BM Rescue Hook on 99% of all seatbelts I encounter. The injured party may have a severe injury and I don't want to take the risk of further injuring them. My Rescue Hook is the most used knife in my arsenal. I use the O2 bottle opener at least twice a shift. It is a valuable tool that, IMHO, has no equal.

*Edited to add that the Rescue Hook also comes in handy when I get off shift and head to the local watering hole with the boys....it has a bottle opener built into it!!!!
 
Originally posted by Cougar Allen
One of our members found himself with his family upside-down in a car all hanging by their seatbelts....He might have been able to unbuckle them if he could have reached the buckles....
Click to expand...

Probably not, since the pressure that is put on the belt when you are suspended by it makes pushing the button darn near impossible.

Mike
 
i got one of the first rescue hooks available, and mine came without the O2 wrench, I have a round hole instead. I emailed BM about it and even sent a pic of my hook and the O2 wrench I carry so they could see that it would fit. I'm sure that my input was not what caused them to do it, but I was pleased anyway. I guess I'll have to get another one sometime. I like the new hard sheaths too. Well, enough wondering around, I'm getting waaay off topic
 
In EMT, reaching the belt buckle is what often limits retrieval. The buckel is placed furthest from either window an a vehicle and is likely to be "mashed" together in a crach. Besides, who wants to reach all the way inside a crushed vehicle.

I've had to cut my own seat belt before. Used a SAK - if wasn't that difficult but it tookm a bit of ripping to get through. The problem is that the material they use - ?not sure what it is? is quite slick, and most straight edged blades will cut but slide off it. Those Rescue Hook things actually work extremely well, as do the gut hooks on hunting knives, as long as its nice and sharp. The trick on any knife is getting some tension in the belt before slicing through.

Serrations can help but not always. I have since tested a couple of different methods of cutting and found that for myself anyway, I seem to cut a bit better by pushing the cut away from me, with the edge up, like I'm "skinning" the belt ! That includes knives with serrations.

With all such manouevres, the concern is about cutting the person or material you have sitting underneath the belt, so this is where the specialised cutting tools help. A friend of mine who is an ambulance officer uses his pair of blunt nosed surgical scissors for seat belts. He said that his kitchen shears (like those for cutting chicken etc.) are just awesome on seat belts and I believe him.

Cheers.
 
From the LEO perspective, I never needed to cut a seatbelt, but it is a great rationalization, not that that is a bad thing. The EMTs and FFs I worked around swore by bandage scissors. On the admittedly rare occasions I had to get people out of wrecked cars I was able to undo the belt w/o trouble, when they were actually in use. I am sure that I wasnt the only cop in a mandatory use state to arrive on scene and find people trying to get their belts ON.

Of course, there was the time I tried to extract an "uncooperative" DUI from the driver's seat and did not realize that his belt was on, but that's a whole different story. Go figure, he drives drunk, but belts up. Better safe than sorry.

b
 
As an LEO (13 yrs) I have only cut 2 or 3 seatbelts. All were for persons trapped in cars and I believe my serrated Endura was used each time. In my area EMS/Fire response is usually fast and they typically take care of extractions.
 
I came upon an accident scene a couple of weeks ago where a window punch and a seat belt cutter would have been very helpful. A car had flipped over into a ditch, and it wasn't possible to reach the belt buckle. We ended up improvising, and I got cut up some in the process.

Now I have a window punch and a Benchmade #5 Rescue Hook. I had a spare seat belt, and was genuinely surprised at how effective the hook was at cutting the seat belt. It was one of those "wow, I am going to do that six or seven more times cause that was cool" moments.

I haven't had a chance to actually use either the punch or hook in a rescue situation, and I'll be pretty happy if I don't. My wife and a friend who was with us at the original accident also now carry the same with them in their cars.
 
I am a firefighter but have never had to cut a seatbelt to remove a casualty from the seat. We do cut seatbelts often though - when doing a roof removal or B-post rip. The sharp plain edge on my Delica cuts a seatbelt with ease.
 
wow. never realized seat belts were cut that often. maybe i should get into the business of making replacements. :D
of course i was aware that you wouldnt always be able to reach the buckle but i did not, until now, know how frequent that occurrence was. thanks for setting me straight.

enjoy and be safe.
 
most belts... are more expensive then the knives your cutting with... especially once ya get to the classics. One size fits all arent to bad, but high perf cars and sports cars... Jeeze!

I'm going to pickup a BM hook... one for each car

Car guys .02

Zach
 
I've cut a good many seatbelts, It's actually become quite a routine thing. I've used a few Spydie Rescues, Leatherman Waves, BM Rescue Hooks, etc. The VERY best knife I'd ever had for that purpose was a Spydie Mini-Dyad. That short, narrow Serrated blade did an awesome job, didn't draw attention or scare anyone. PE Flatground blade was great for routine knock around box opening etc.

One reason I cut quite a few seatbelts, even though it's rarely been absolutely necessary is for one simple fact: (Moving the patient around and safe access has already been mentioned a few times, so there's no need to hammer on that point anymore)

Car accidents really suck. Anyone in a car accident has got a million things going through thier heads, and most of them NOT happy relaxing thoughts. It's a given that the mechanism of injury will always tell the truth. BUT...cutting the seatbelt reiterates to anyone who may ask that yes, this patient had a seatbelt on. Car accidents suck enough without insurance investigators crawling around in the aftermath lookin' for a way to screw over the vehicle operator. I know from personal experience it happens, because it became a topic for my family when my brother was very nearly killed in an accident, and we had to deal with that crap.
 
As an active LEO I was first on the scene of a fellow officer hanging upside down in a patrol car in a ditch. The vehicle was still running. He was still confused and a bit stunned from the accident and trying to release his seat belt. Lucky for him, no fire. As I was preparing to bust the driver's window he finally managed to release the belt and drop. Also notable was the fact he had no knife to cut his belt. Luckily, the rookie was one of the walk aways without a scratch, But he could have been like some more unfortunates we have witnessed. Now he carries a knife for seatbelts and will never forget his wake up call. I carry a Leatherman and a good folder in pocket on duty and off.
 
Originally posted by Runs With Scissors
BUT...cutting the seatbelt reiterates to anyone who may ask that yes, this patient had a seatbelt on.
Click to expand...


that is a very intelligent thing to do. in fact, it may be the very best way to prove (by testimony and exhibit) that the occupant was wearing a belt. im sure that anyone who has had this be a debated issue can appreciate how truly great this SOP is. i commend you sir!
 
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