We all know the rules: there must be a safety card at every seat, it must be pointed out to you, airlines have been in trouble if their cards are inaccurate or out of date, Ryanair puts them on the backs of the seats. The card has to be the tallest item in the seat pocket. The old ones used prose; the new ones use graphics.

Now let us imagine preparing for an emergency.
The plane is pummelling out of the sky; smoke is erupting; the crew is screaming "Heads down! Stay Down!" There is nobody to translate this in to Jive when necesary.
Are you really supposed to get out the card and try to decipher it?

In a calmer setting, let's say that you're just a diligent passenger: "remove the safety card from the seat pocket in front of you and follow along..."
This is impossible.
The order of events on the card doesn't match the video or live demo. One cannot "follow along."
If you're trying to figure out what the cartoons are doing, you cannot watch the video or demo.

Lastly, emergency procedures aren't quite as simple as a few cartoon characters. Would you really understand how to get a life raft out of an overhead compartment? Then open the door (not the rear doors some aircraft), get the slide and the raft out, inflate them both, know that some slides are dual lane, others aren't; get onto the raft, cut the cord, attach the canopy, perform CPR, negotiate a hostage release, all while resisting the urge to smoke a few cigarettes?

Have the cards ever saved a life? Could they?