The AAP (American Association of Pediatrics) did study in 2011 and came to some alarming findings... Although in the past the standard has been at 12 months to turn our children around to forward facing; they have found that this is not the safest position for our small children to be in a car! Here is a link to the latest standards posted by the AAP....
Steven Age 2 years 7 months
http://www.healthychildren.org/english/safety-prevention/on-the-go/pages/car-safety-seats-information-for-families.aspx