Need as soon as possible

Less chance of contact from accidents just from simple location of being away from front and sides of vehicle.

It is also important to note that babies and young children should remain facing the rear for as long as possible (with the limits set by their safety seat). When purchasing a car-seat, look for one that allows the child to be facing the rear for the heaviest possible weight before the seat needs to be turned around. While laws may allow a car-seat to be turned sooner, by age and weight, rear-facing is still safer for as long as the weight limit allows.

Agree 100 percent, it protects from side impacts and other directional best.

I will also say to follow the instructions exactly. I used.. to help with safety checks on car seats at safety events, almost one in four was not installed properly

It is not the best place if you only have a lap belt, if you get pulled and there are other spare seats in the car you will be asked to move them it happened to me

x19dave... did they give you a reason for asking you to move it? Was this a rear-facing seat, a forward-facing seat, or a booster seat?

Unless there was a reason why the seat wouldn't fit properly in the middle or it was not able to be secured tightly in that location, the person who told you to move it simply because of a shoulder-belt available in one of the side seats was incorrect in doing so.

Police are not properly trained in carseat safety (as a CST) neither are most doctors.

A lap belt only does not make the seat less safe. A lap belt only is less safe for a child in a booster or an older child without any safety seat. But a carseat installed into the car makes no difference.

The middle is also the safest in many cars (not all) because some cars have indented, or 'bucket' seats, on the side seats. The center is generally more level, and allows for a tighter install.