i was on an air canada flight a few years ago. took off from runway 9 at BOS, out over boston harbor on a clear day. before the plane made a turn to the north, the seatbelt sign was off. when the sign came back on midflight, i knew they meant it, and i made sure my seatbelt was fastened, low and tight..

i was on an AA flight earlier this week. an hour into the flight, the sign had never been turned off. i just ignored it.

how about a recommendation to avoid overuse of the sign? is the turbulence threat level "orange"?