Here is the deal!

The window shades need to be up so that someone from the outside can have a better chance of seeing what is going on in the inside should they have to cut through the plane side in the event of an emergency. If your widow shade is closed, the jaws or saws could be going through your head.

The seats need to be in it's full upgright position as when it is even slightly reclined, the increase chance in you sliding through the belt is ever so greatly increased. This has been a problem recently in car accidents where passengers recline the seats and then during a crash they slide right under the belt. DOT is trying to figure out how to best handle this at the moment.

There was a Discovery show or TLC or something that covered both of these issues on TV in Europe over the last 3 or 4 years, suprosed none of you saw it.

Hope this helps clear it up!