DR. WALLACE: I'm a teenager living with my single mother. I'm an only child, and my mom has a steady job, but it doesn't pay a whole lot. This means we're always tight with money, so recently, my mother sold the used car that we had for the past four years and bought an even older used car for less money. The good news is this "second" car runs fine, but the bad news is the seatbelts don't work in the front seat for either the driver or the passenger.

I mentioned this to one of my friends because he has an uncle who is a police officer, and this uncle highly recommended, or insisted, that my friend tell us to get functioning seatbelts installed in the car right away.

I told my mom about this, but she said she'll think about it when she can save up extra money to see about getting new seatbelts installed. What should I do? I don't feel safe in this car. — We Need Seatbelts, via email

WE NEED SEATBELTS: Indeed, you and your mother need seatbelts in that vehicle immediately! If she doesn't have the budget for the seatbelts right now, surely there is an adult within your circle of family and friends who would front the payment for you to get seatbelts installed. You could then pay off the expense, perhaps over time. You and a few of your friends could create a car wash, offer to do babysitting or whatever it takes to earn enough money to pay for those seatbelts.

I fully understand and have empathy for your mother regarding your tight financial position, but certain things supersede budgets, and functioning seatbelts in the primary family vehicle is absolutely one of them. Speak openly to your mother about your concerns and get seatbelts installed one way or another.

NOW I CAN'T ATTEND ANY SIMILAR EVENTS

DR. WALLACE: My parents permitted me to attend a surprise birthday party last weekend. My mom dropped me off at the party about 20 miles away from our home, and the plan was to have the older brother of one of my friends bring me home that night. We know this family very well, and my driver, who is a 21-year-old college student, has always been very responsible in the past.

But unfortunately for me on the night in question, he started drinking alcohol with some friends of his down the street before he came to pick me up at the appointed time.

I smelled the alcohol on his breath when he told me he was ready to give me a ride home, and I told him that I was going to call my parents anyway, and for him not to worry about it. He simply answered by saying "whatever," and he drifted away.

I had to call my parents and explain to them what had happened. They were not amused and not happy to have to wake up at 11 p.m. and go pick me up almost half an hour away.

I didn't end up on restriction, but my parents are now no longer allowing me to attend parties on the weekends all because of this family friend's behavior. I don't feel that's fair, do you? — Punished for Someone Else's Problems, via email

PUNISHED FOR SOMEONE ELSE'S PROBLEMS: In my view, you acted responsibly and did the right thing. It was smart and appropriate to refuse that ride. The moment you noticed alcohol on the breath of the person who was planning to drive you home, you correctly declined to get into that vehicle.

Unfortunately, you had to wake up your parents to get a ride home and this likely made them quite cranky. In my opinion, they should have commended you for your responsible behavior instead of punishing you by forbidding you to attend other similar events in the future. The alcohol that this young man consumed was not even at the party you were attending.

It appears that one of the reasons your parents don't want this situation to repeat itself is that they don't want to be responsible for coming to pick you up late in the evening. To be able to be granted permission to attend similar events in the future, I feel securing a ride from a known, responsible older adult would be your best avenue to convince your parents to change their minds. Do some networking to see if you can find such a person, and when you do, introduce this idea to your parents. I feel it will have a high chance of changing your situation.

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.

Photo credit: Farzanah Rosli at Unsplash