>>Scenarios:
>>Car wreck, passengers trapped by seatbelts:
>>seatbelt cutter or one hander knife real handy,

With very, very few exceptions, unless you're a working paramedic on duty you should have no reason to cut somebody's seatbelt to get them out of the car. If the car is so badly damaged that the seatbelt release won't function, then you're almost guaranteed to cause more injury to the casualty by hauling them out of the car than you would leaving them where they are. (And you shouldn't be taking them out of the car anyway, regardless of how - or whether - you undid the seat belt.)

I suppose someone's going to say, what about the situation where the car is on fire, or under water? But despite what you see on the movies, those cases are unbelievably rare, and in the cases that do occur, you'd be faster simply reaching in and unbuckling the seat belt than fumbling around for your BenchHook.

>>FAK

and a current First Aid/CPR certificate to go with it, of course <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

>>Cell Phone - handy, not crushed under dashboard in handsfree cradle...

If your car is so badly trashed that you're unable to retrieve a cell-phone from its handsfree cradle, then I'll bet:

(a) there's a good chance that the cell-phone won't even be in the hands-free cradle, it'll be under the back seat, or 30 feet away in the trees;

(b) any cell-phone you had in your pocket will be sitting next to it; and

(c) you'll be in no shape to use it anyway (because you'll most likely be under a 20 foot thick layer of Los Angeles freeway <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> )

Yeah, there are always exceptions, but it seems to me you're more busy worrying about the 1 in 10 billion chance that might, conceivably, happen somewhere in the world to one person sometime this century, rather than preparing for the vastly more common, but mundane accidents that could occur.

Don't get me wrong, if the car is on fire, the passenger is screaming in pain, and you can't reach into the car to undo the seat belt because of the flames, then the seat-belt cutter would be a great thing to have. But I'm afraid that many people are going to be so eager to use their "toy" that they'll end up crippling or killing some poor schlub who would have lived to walk again if the good Samaritans hadn't severed his spinal chord, or ruptured his spleen, by "saving" him.

Sorry for the rant - for all I know, you're a working paramedic who's trained in how to extract injured passengers from a vehicle. (I'm not, btw, so any working paramedics or ER docs out there who wish to correct me are welcome to do so.) But people who talk blithely about slicing away seat belts to extract severely injured passengers from car crashes give me the willies. <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I wish I could be more encouraging.

I've only been down to the Smithsonian (actually something like 16 museums, only most of which are on the Mall) once since 9/11. Security was different in different museums, some just looked at you and waved you through (no idea what they thought they were looking for), others hand-searched every purse and bag. I don't know if it's permanently different in different museums, or they stagger the searches, and I'm sure not going to ask. I didn't see any metal detectors or anyone being patted down that day, but neither would surprise me a bit.

You haven't specified what "minimally prepared" means to you, but I doubt if we're worried about a compass and matches here, and at the other extreme I doubt if you're planning to pack a gun, so let me just volunteer the information that carrying any pocketknife with a blade over 3 inches in DC is flat out illegal. They're serious. If they find such a knife on your person, you will be very lucky if the worst they do is confiscate it. In at least some government buildings the standing policy at the metal detectors was to call the police and have you arrested- and that was before 9/11. These days, I would guess that smaller knives would be confiscated, and later sold on eBay. The TSA gets away with this at the airports, so now they all think they should be doing it.

Quite frankly, the attitude expressed in your message troubles me. Not that you're wrong, I'm not saying that, but just that it won't work. Yes, they do think they have the right to paw through your pockets and pass judgement, and if you give them a hard time about it, they will give you a hard time about it, and they have vastly more potential in that direction than you do, with far fewer consequences.

IMHO, the best way to approach a visit to DC is to realize that you're going to a very troubled area under something approaching martial law. Think Belfast in the '70s, or Beirut. DC is one of the few areas in the country where the mere posession of a handgun is completely forbidden. Anyone daring to quote "shall not be infringed" is considered backward and ignorant at best, or subversive, possibly treasonous at worst, which means that in areas of the city gang members can shoot in the general direction of each other in the secure knowledge that no ordinary citizen can do a thing to stop them. This periodically earns DC the title "Murder Capital of the US" (greatest per-capita murder rate). Amazingly, most residents of the area think you're insane if you feel this is a failure of gun control. To them, it's obvious that it means that gun control must be expanded to neighboring states, then all states, then worldwide, because they always claim their problem is guns coming in from places where their laws aren't in force yet. Of course, they'll have that argument so long as there is any such place on earth.

As in DC, the level of scrutiny in NYC varies quite a bit -- the Metropolitan Museum checks all bags (even makes you turn on laptop computers, just like the TSA at the airport), but nobody searches anything at Grand Central Terminal (though armed guards are everywhere). I haven't been to places like the Empire State Building or the courthouses in a long time, though I bet the security at those places is now pretty intrusive.

None of my city EDC items have raised any eyebrows or even attracted much attention (but that may be because I'm short, Asian-heritage & female). I have a CMG Sonic flashlight on my keychain and, in a zipped mesh bag: extra Metrocard, heavy-duty cable-ties, SAK, mini-FAK, matches, HD needle & thread, HD plastic trash bags and safety pins. (After reading some of the other posts, I think I'll add a whistle and some para cord, too.) I usually also have a couple of protein bars and some water in my briefcase.

Mostly, you're probably right. Especially about removing injured people from a non-burning, non-sinking vehicle.

BUT, I've been in the position where, had I had one, I would have used it. The day my car caught fire (in a parking lot -- spark + disconnected carburator hose), I found that I had clipped the end of my shirt into the seatbelt buckle. Smoke was pouring out from under the dash & around the edges of the hood, and I COULD NOT get that seatbelt loose. Panic gives us great strength, and I finally managed to pull on the fabric and press the seatbelt button & the thing finally released.

I also left my purse & paycheck on the seat, if that gives you any idea... <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Well, I did say there were probably exceptions to the rule, and that's certainly one of them <img src="images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

On the other hand, I have personally come upon an accident scene involving a single vehicle rollover in which "helpful" bystanders had already dragged both occupants out of the car, and I once stopped at the scene of a motorcycle accident in time to stop the unconscious cyclists two buddies from rolling him over by hauling on his ankle. So I stand by my belief that there are probably more people killed by "seat belt cutters" (in the hands of well-meaning Good Samaritans) than will ever be saved by them. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

How do you carry your P38 can opener safely on your keychain? How useful do you find it? I'd think a Vic Classic would be better.

I didn't expect encouragement. The last time I visited Washington, D.C. was before 9/11. I had a great time, but I have not been back since, and I really don't intend to go. I would love to, though.

I'd be happy to play the tourist and see the sights and pump some money into the economy. I am reluctant, however, to put the time, effort, and money into doing that, knowing I'm going to be put under a microsope simply by virtue of being physically present.

I recognize the necessity but resent the intrusion. One is basically paying hard-earned money to be treated like a suspect. It doesn't make sense to me.

May I ask what kind of SAK you carry? Has it raised any security concerns in D.C?

i got a P-38 on mine keychain, with a Wenger exsecutive, led light, glowring and ferrosiumrod. Haven't had problems with it.

It's a plain-vanilla SAK: 2 blades, scissors, can opener, tweezers, pointy awl-like thing, corkscrew, etc. Mostly it gets used at picnics to open/cut/spread stuff, or when I can't be bothered to dig a real screwdriver out of my toolbox.