Car seat installation help, please!

[bw52]

We just installed our car seat (Chicco 30). Is it normal for the front seat to have to be pushed very far forward to not touch the car seat? And if it touches it is the car seat not safely installed? We tried to put in on the driver's side, but it hit, so we moved it to the passenger side. Now I'm not sure if my pregnant belly is going to fit on the passenger side (1 more week to go!). Just not sure this is normal. I've riden in cars with car seats before and never remember the fron seats begin pushed so far forward. It's an Oldmosbile Alero 2001, btw.

Also, I'm assuming the side seats were the best b/c they have latch (as opposed to the middle with just a lap belt). Is this true?

TIA!

[GraceH]

Is this with the handle up or back? Having it up will buy some room (I believe Chiccos can be up - double check your manual). I don't think that the seat is allowed to touch the front seat (but again, double-check your manual).
I would think it would fit being that people have gotten the SafeSeat/SnugRide32 (which has a taller shell) to fit on carseatdata.org (allows you to search and share fit info.)
Also, the center spot may offer more clearance if you have separate front seats, as the tallest part of the shell would be placed between the front seats...

[codex57]

LATCH is not inherently safer than a seatbelt. LATCH is just often easier to install than seatbelt. A properly installed seat is a ton safer than in improperly installed one. Some car seats just are really hard to install with a seatbelt so LATCH can make it a lot easier.

There's no one "safest" seat. The safest seat is the one furthest from point of impact. If you get hit on the passenger side, the driver's side seat is the safest. And vice versa. Since you can't guess which side you're gonna get hit on, most people recommend the middle seat as a compromise.

However, many middle seats don't allow LATCH. Like your car apparently. If you want to use the middle, install with a seatbelt. If you're having problems or just prefer LATCH better, you can use one of the side seats. I think it's more important to have the seat placed in the spot where you can install it the most securely.