DR. WALLACE: I'm 17 and recently successfully completed my drivers training course. This means that I can now get my driver's license, which also means my parents will buy me a used car so I can drive myself to my part-time job being a food server. I'm grateful that my parents will pay for my car, but they are making me responsible for paying for the necessary insurance. I checked with the company that insures my parents' two cars and was shocked at the cost. My driving instructor said that I was an excellent driver and an outstanding student. So please don't tell me that the rates are high for teens because their driving habits are poor! —Julie, Highland, Ind.

JULIE: It's never fair to be lumped into a statistical group, but that's how the insurance company determines rates. Insurance premiums are calculated on the percentage of accidents in each age group. And unfortunately, the age group you're in (16- to 24-year-olds) while making up only 20 percent of the country's licensed drivers, is involved in 42 percent of all alcohol-related fatal crashes. Teens have the physical skills to be excellent drivers, but lack of experience and youthful exuberance cause trouble on the highway.

I LOVE MY MOTHER VERY MUCH

DR. WALLACE: I'm a 16-year-old girl, and my brother is 12. We both live with our mother. Our father doesn't live with us. My concern is that my mother shows favoritism towards my brother. She constantly hugs him and tells him that she loves him. This makes me feel like she doesn't love me and that I'm not even part of the family. I do love my mother very much, and I would really like it if she would hug me and tell me that she loves me, too. I'm not mistreated in any way, and I have everything a girl could want except a mother's affection, and that's what I want the most. Is it possible that you could help me? I pray that you can. —Nameless, Lake Charles, La.

NAMELESS: Sometimes the written word can be the most effective form of communication. Your mother, after she reads your message, will answer your prayer.

I APPLAUD YOUR HIGH SCHOOL

DR. WALLACE: I'm an A student and academics are very important to me. I plan to be a medical doctor after completing all of my schooling. Our high school has a class on the evils of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. All students are required to take this two-week course in place of physical education. I don't smoke, drink or take drugs and I doubt seriously that I ever will, so I'm very upset that I must take this class. I've learned all about this stuff from my parents. Why is the school teaching about them? —Nameless, New York, N.Y.

NAMELESS: Schools educate their students in certain nonacademic subjects when there is need to do so. Your parents are wise in discussing these addictive products with you, but many parents have not done so. Personally, I applaud your high school for requiring this course.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.