...many passengers do not comply with the seat belt sign when it is illuminated during flight?

During turbulence these passengers are known as "flying objects."

It's funny, I was sitting on the tarmac at IAD for two hours on Saturday (t-storms), and a flight attendant and I were talking about the same thing.

I have also noticed over the past year that the pilots have the FAs remain seated even if there's a slight hint of a bump ahead. That said, I live in DEN, and if you've ever flown through DEN at all, you know things can be a little unpredictable and nasty...especially in the summertime.

I too have noticed more and more people getting up when the seat belt sign is on. I can understand people getting up when it has been smooth sailing for awhile, but the folks who get up when the joint is shakin' just baffle me.

Especially the ones who get up even when the flight attendants have been asked to sit down.

European carriers turn off their seat belt signs much more quickly than US carriers. Likely a product of our litigious society.

I second what LessO2 said; our pilots are probably quicker to turn on and later to turn off the signs than foreign carriers due to the fear of litigation should someone get injured when the sign has been turned off or not turned on.

That said, this engenders pax who feel, "Well, it's really not that bad, and seems like it should have been turned off a long time ago, and I really, really, have to go!" They disobey the signs because they don't feel they are justifiably on ... it's like the little boy who cried wolf. If you overuse them for the lightest chop, people will fail to heed them in a case of really needing to stay seated.

I've had my head knocked pretty hard while in my seat with my seatbelt fastened before, so I certainly don't doubt the need for pax to stay seated for turbulence... but I do admit to having questioned the sign on many an occasion, too.

Yeah, there are a lot of people who are just itching to get the belt off.

Personally, I don't find them to be uncomfortable and I wear my seatbelt 100% of the time that I'm seated. The risk of clear air turbulence or what have you may be low, but there's no reward for me to take on that risk.

Some of the issue is with flight crews who forget the sign is on. I imagine things can get busy up front and if they are dealing with some routing or weather or ATC instructions, it might be something that gets overlooked. I guess I don't understand why the person who has to get up doesn't just ring the call light so the FA can find out if the sign needs to be on. Those are the same idiots who will sue the airline if they get tossed against the ceiling while they are up.

Then there are the folks who have connections and decide that the instant the wheels stop turning for any reason, it's time to jump out of the window seat and start grabbing their stuff. Yep, window seat. Guess they figure the pilot is dropping them off at their outbound flight. And then no matter what the Captain or flight attendants say, those folks won't get out of that aisle. "It's ok, I'll just sit on my suitcase." Sometimes I think that an extra strong braking effort at the chocks might be designed to send a message to those folks.

I've seen a couple FAs take their seats at absolutely the last instance before take off or landing. Last night, the purser was a little slow tidying up the F galley and was tossing things into bins as the plane rolled onto the active. We were number one from the gate and the tower had them keep it rolling from the taxiway right on to the runway. On another flight, the FA was gabbing a bit too much and got into the jumpseat pretty much as we were over the numbers. I suppose that happens a lot, but I wonder what the rules say.

There's not too much to say about this. Most people just think that it's not important. That's completely not the case in the tiny planes. The passengers most likely not to wear they're seat belts are parents with small children, young children with they're own seats, and really old people. That's my experience.