Jim was 16 years old. He'd only been driving for six months, but already his parents had paid the fines for two tickets that Jim had received for speeding. On the day that Jim's parents received a notice from their insurance company telling them that the cost of their automobile policy had been increased, they told Jim that they needed to talk. After supper, Jim and his parents sat at the kitchen table. It was a serious gathering.

His mother began, "We seem to have a problem here. We know you want to be able to drive the car and we want you to be able to. But you need to understand how important it is to obey the speed limits."

Jim's father spoke. "Your mother and I have talked about this and we have agreed to allow you to continue to use the car if you agree not to speed again." The father …