Seat belt falsehood
Ian W
You are the only person who speaks sense on this seat belt topic.
The default position on any aircraft in flight is that pax are seated and belted, just like in an automobile. That is precautionary safety and it is never sufficiently policed in either transport mode. Lack of policing of the default is the root problem. Cabin crew the same when not carrying out work duties (but of course they all mill around in the servery, chatting and posing, no?)
If the seat belt sign is illuminated by the flight deck, that ought to indicate an escalation of hazard that only the flight deck is aware of, such as take-off, landing, turbulence ahead, technical problem, need to divert or a flight security issue. The seat belt sign ought to be replaced with a hazard warning to avoid doubt...."WARNING-SIT DOWN AND BELT UP"
It ought to apply to everyone, including the cabin crew, who should stow trolleys and sit down, and lav pax do the same. The default position of everyone belted up is then restored.
The experience of trillions of pax across the world over decades, is that the flight deck leaves the seat belt illuminated during meal service, sometimes for the whole journey, mostly with no turbulence, and no one believes it anymore.
That is not the fault of unruly pax, it is the fault of flight deck indolence across the industry.
One explanation I was given is that cabin crew are automatically insured as employees and pax are not insured if they leave their seat with the light on. Can anyone corroborate that?