TEENS: Driving is serious work. Controlling a three-ton vehicle traveling at speeds up to 65 mph requires total concentration. Anything that causes distractions is simply unacceptable.

Most states have placed limits on using a hand-held cellphone while operating a vehicle. This is eminently sensible. Driving with only one hand while arguing with your girlfriend or boyfriend can be dangerous.

Now research notes that the spillage of food or drink while driving also causes many accidents. Data from the National Highway Safety Administration and the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety indicated that eating while driving is bad, but spilling is worse. Most accidents due to spills happen in the morning when drivers are on their way to school or work. After a spill, the driver tries to clean the drink or food off his clothes and the result is a crash.

Researchers have identified 10 foods and beverages to avoid when you drive. The worst is hot coffee, followed by hot soup, tacos, chili-covered food, juicy hamburgers, barbecue sauce, fried chicken, jelly-filled donuts, soft drinks and, finally, chocolate.

Are you guilty of consuming any of these when you're behind the wheel? If so, please wise up. If you're hungry or thirsty, stop the car and go to a restaurant. Or pull into a rest stop or a parking lot if you've brought a snack with you. What's your hurry? You've got a whole lifetime ahead of you.

SEX DOESN'T MAKE RELATIONSHIPS LAST

DR. WALLACE: I'm 16 and dating Boy No. 2, who is 17. Before I started going out with him I dated his brother, Boy No. 1, who is my age, and I really liked him. We went together for over a year and we were intimate because I thought having sex with him would be a sure way of keeping him. But I guess I was wrong because he broke up with me because he wanted to date other girls.

Soon after the breakup, Boy No. 2 called and asked me out. I accepted. He is a nice guy, and I enjoy going out with him. He knows that his brother and I were sexually intimate. Sometimes when we are out on a date he asks questions like, "How many times did you have sex with my brother? Where did it happen? Did he use a condom?" When I answer his questions honestly, he gets mad and calls me nasty names. When he isn't asking me these questions he is really nice and sweet to me.

Last night Boy No. 2 asked me if I ever had sex with any other guys. I told him no, that I was a virgin when I first dated his brother. Then he really got mad and accused me of being a liar. He then said that I was worse than a prostitute. I started crying and told him to take me home. This made him even angrier and he said, "Tears won't change the truth."

I don't know what to do now because I'm really confused. I'm not sure if I should keep seeing this guy or just refuse to answer questions about my past. What should I do? — Nameless, Joplin, Mo.

NAMELESS: This guy's insults are way out of line, and I think you should drop him immediately. Whatever happened between you and his brother is none of his business. But now that he thinks that it is, he'll never stop badgering you about it.

Your first mistake was being intimate with Boy No. 1. Your second mistake was answering questions from Boy No. 2 about your relationship with Boy No. 1.

You have learned the hard way that sex is not the answer to making a relationship last. More times than not, a sexual relationship dooms a romance. In your case, it has doomed not one but two romances. And it has certainly brought out the worst in Boy No. 2.

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. E-mail 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.