I was also a carseat nut intuitively. My mom was very conscious of car safety issues when we were little (and then there was my dad, who didn't even make us wear seatbelts). My mom always had my little bros in carseats, according to whatever the recommendations were at the time. And my older bro & I were also in carseats, when they were brand new (I'm 27, he's 29). I owned a Touriva before I had kids of my own because I did alot of babysitting. I remember reading the manual and reading about car seat safety in parenting magazines, and I taught myself how to install it and use it properly, and it really bothered me that the own child's parents didn't make her ride in a car seat or even a seat belt! When my oldest DS was born 5 yrs ago, I made sure he had the best infant seat I could find (a 5 pt Snugride with up front harness adjuster - the 5 pts were rare then, the nurses at the hospital were VERY impressed!) When he outgrew it, I gave it away, and then bought almost the identical seat again for DD to use when she was born 1 1/2 yrs later. When DD was a baby (so 3 yrs ago), my cousin's 4 yr old son was killed in a car accident. He was wearing a regular seatbelt, no booster seat. It was a horrible tragedy for our family. I talk to my kids about Austin all the time, to keep the memories of him alive, and that has made them very aware of what can happen if they don't buckle up properly. It has also fueled my car seat 'nutiness' and prompted me to purchase a BLVD for my oldest DS, who is 5 (did I already say that?). I keep my kids rear facing for as long as possible and will keep my kids harnessed for as long as possible, because of what happened to Austin. I know that these tragedies DO happen in real life, and I will do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't happen to my family. And that is my story!