"Who's the U-boat commander?"

If you've seen the 1983 film "Risky Business," you will remember that line. For those who haven't, the video above shows that the quote is what the Porsche service manager asks 18-year-old Joel and his friends after recovering Joel's father's Porsche 928 from Lake Michigan. Apparently, Joel neglected to apply the parking brake.

Of course, this was merely the denouement to Joel's nighttime car chase with Guido the Killer Pimp in hot pursuit. And that not-quite-epic car chase scene was preceded by Joel's nearly-epic quote, "I think I can take him."

Well, his parents did warn him not to drive the 928 while they were out of town. Unfortunately, they neglected to take the keys.

I'm fortunate to have four great children, three of whom are of driving age. Consequently, when it comes to driving, what they learn and how they learn it is one of my priorities. While I don't think I have any Joels in the crowd, I still have one 14-year-old boy to go, so I'm not letting my guard down just yet.

I absolutely concur with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's position that crashes are not accidents. They are also correct when they state: "The primary problems of drivers between 15 and 25 years of age appear to be related to lack of experience, immature judgment and risk taking. Younger drivers have limited life experience to rely upon in developing responses to the driving environment."

As a consequence of this, my approach to driver education prioritizes training and experience, which includes at least one stint for each of them at the Mid Ohio School. Just like there is no substitute for a Porsche, there's no substitute for learning car control from professional instructors in a controlled environment like a skid pad.

Likewise, helping them to gain experience and develop mature judgment and habits (like using the parking brake) comes with lots of supervised seat time with dad riding shotgun. Their safety is worth as much of my time as it takes.

Even as a driver with 36 years of experience and many hours logged testing production vehicles, I firmly believe I can always improve my skills. I constantly tell my children the same thing — you, I, anyone can always improve.

When I joined the Porsche Club of America two years ago, I discovered that Driver Education days provided a great opportunity to its members. DEs could be a great way to enjoy your Porsche while working on and improving your car control skills.

I'll admit I just haven't made the time to attend a DE event yet. I enjoy racing an awful lot and having spent a few years running production and formula cars in SCCA regional events, I know what may happen to all my spare time and money once I take the plunge.

But what about my oldest son Chris? He is also a PCA member and while he is not a teenager — at age 21 — he is still early in his driving career and in that 15-25 age range. He should be attending DEs — my treat, and car of course.

It would be fun, he would get the benefit of working with some great instructors, and it would help to bolster his confidence behind the wheel. He is definitely interested, and my new goal is to have my 944 ready by October to catch the last RSR DE event of the year.

What car to make available for my grandchildren, well, I'll save that for another column. And while I don't subscribe to IIHS recommendations and ratings, I am interested in what used car they suggest our teens should be driving. IIHS seems to prefer something large, slow and ESC equipped. There aren't any Porsches on the list, but then again, they don't bother to test Porsches.

One thing I do know is that each of my children has had the opportunity to drive varying sizes and types of vehicles, and they definitely have their preferences as to the type of vehicle they feel most comfortable, confident and relaxed driving. That's something to consider before deciding what to let them drive.

As for safety systems, the most important safety system in any car — Porsche included — is the driver. None of my children drives any of my cars solo until I decide they're ready. Why? It's about their safety, simple as that.