buffnut453
Captain
Why do you call them idiots if there was no sign to keep the belt on?
Because every flight I've been on has a verbal announcement recommending that passengers keep their seatbelts fastened while seated, even though the light may be turned off.
Air travel has become so commonplace, and flight safety has improved so much, that people have become immune to the risks that still exist. Despite weather radar, improved forecasting, and sharing of weather conditions between aircraft, it's still entirely possible for an aircraft to encounter unexpected, and pretty severe, turbulence. Even sitting on the ground, the passengers are about 10 feet off the ground, which is quite a drop if an undercarriage leg fails or the aircraft slips off the texiway. The latter are, thankfully, rare but they aren't unknown...so why take the risk by not keeping yourself strapped in until the very end?