It's obvious I don't spend enough time researching car seat safety information. In fact, I haven't read anything about car seats since I changed my daughter from rear facing to forward facing 2.5 years ago. I just finished reading an article on CafeMom.com titled "9 Lifesaving Car Seat Rules You're Probably Ignoring" and I found that they were mostly right...
My Mistakes
When my daughter was a youngin', rear facing car seats were to 1 year of age or 30 lbs. I kept my daughter rear-facing for 1.5 years, thinking it was the more responsible choice... Thing is, she just barely hits the 30 lbs mark right now! Eegads! That's scary.
Straps are no longer determined to be tight enough by placing two fingers under the strap; Now they must pass the "pinch test." Pinch the straps -- if you can do so, then the straps are too loose.
This one makes me feel like a total idiot, but no coats! This line from the article made me cry a little, I'm not ashamed to say, "A cop reports seeing a coat strapped into a seat, even after the child who had been wearing it flew out of it." God damn. Snuggies for everyone!
Car seats have always freaked me out. I'm the only mom I know that reefs the heck out of the seat when installing it in the car. I break a good sweat and secure that sucker in so hard that it doesn't move a darn inch when you reef on it. I have a hissy fit if anyone drives my kid around with a loosely installed car seat... I might be a snob, but as I've said, car seats freak me out!