StreetSmarts

The employee lack knowldege and experience. I could tell the instructor was not giving the technical names for the road infrastructors leaving my son so confused! He was also very over critical of my son's autistic appearance, mannerisms and so forth. By the end he failed my son by 2% because he "felt" my son did not show enough confidence. His over critical words have devistated my son enough he refuses to keep trying.

I completed the six hour driving course with Instructor named Mallory. He is incredibly nice and friendly person, along with excellent driving instructions. The driving routes were carefully organized and structured to cover all possible scenarios that can be encountered while driving, including highway driving and parking practices. I gained lot of driving confidence with him. I definitely recommend him. Thank you Mallory!

I have had two kids take driving lessons from Street Smarts. Both times it was an unorganized mess. You sign up for blocks of time to drive but they change your times without telling you. The people in the office are rude and unhelpful. It is fairly expensive, and I would expect a better service. If there are any other options in your area, I suggest you try them. We had no other options. On the positive, the instructor was very nice and knowledgeable. He was understanding and rolled with the punches.

Our daughter's instructor was amazing. Patient, kind, constructive criticism. Very knowledgeable and helpful! Lori you are the best! They are lucky to have you! Five stars for you! Whoever answers the phone, office person-woman is a two star. She had an attitude. She did end up helping me so I appreciate that but I feel she could have handled the situation a lot better.

The WHOLE attitude of everything would have changed with one little phrase: let me try to help you. Instead of trying to reprimand me or trying to blame my daughter for their misinformation. Just to put yourself in my shoes and be kind. It was literally a few clicks on your end- the end. Even the DMV worker said it does not take 15 days for them to send over the information. It's a few clicks. So all that could have been avoided with let me try to help you or I will help you.

Parents please proceed with extreme caution. We chose this for the convenience of the online modules vs. doing the didactic component in class each day due to our son's busy schedule. There were limited spots, so his driving ended up being in a part of town where we do not live and he will likely not drive in for many years. It sounds like there is a ton of variability across instructors also in reference to the quality of instruction, where they drive, and the test-out procedures.

Our instructor lacked professionalism, did not provide feedback, and did not communicate with the parents (as we were told was standard for their program). I was familiar with the myriad of negative reviews prior to enrolling our child, but due to Driving with Cops being booked out for many months, we reluctantly chose this program. I would caution against making the same mistake that we did and would encourage families to wait for openings with Driving with Cops.

It's a lot of money, but more importantly, ensuring our children are adequately prepared to safely drive should be a priority. I now know why Driving with Cops is booked out for months!

Chris Drake was the instructor for my daughter and I am very thankful she had him! She felt very confident in her driving by the time her class was done and she has done great now that she's on her own. I will definitely send my son to him!

I completed the Street Smarts driving course with instructor Chris Drake earlier this year. He was incredibly patient with me even when I was nervous and consistently gave me constructive feedback that has helped me with my driving even after finishing the course. He was also punctual and had a structured plan of our routes and breaks. Even though me and my other driving partner had to drive in snowy conditions for our final test, he did a great job of navigating the both of us and getting us back safe. From my successful experience, I highly recommend this course and specifically Chris Drake, especially with nervous or inexperienced drivers.

My daughter graduated from both Drive With Cops and then later Street Smarts (Roosevelt HS location in Des Moines). She definitely preferred Street Smarts! Both schools had nice, patient instructors but the biggest difference between the two was the drive time experience. Drive with Cops never challenged her on the drives. They didn't take her on the interstate or downtown (she was more than ready for it, mature & confident).

For some reason the instructor played it safe and most the drives were basic roads and parking lots! When I emailed Drive with Cops at the halfway point to express my concern about the lack of different driving situations for her drive time, they said they don't go downtown and as far as interstate driving that it's up to each officers discretion.

So needless to say, after she graduated there, I just felt more comfortable if she also did another school. Street Smarts was very, very thorough. You really felt like you got your moneys worth and that your kid got the most experience possible. They had a lot of checkboxes to mark off and my daughter was downtown and on the interstate for most of her drives. I really felt like as a parent, Street Smarts prepared my daughter better and gave her way more experiences.

My daughter recently completed her Street Smarts driving course with instructor Chris Drake. Chris was accommodating, caring, and shared his critiques with my daughter without being overly critical. Chris also recently taught both of my nieces to drive, and they literally had no driving experience. My sister and brother-in-law specifically told us to ask for Chris when my daughter's drive times opened up due to their positive experience and we are really glad that we did. Thank you Chris! We really appreciate you!

I took the 6 hour course plus an extra hour of practice before the road test. My instructor Scott Omvig was fantastic! He is very personable, patient and encouraging, which helped me feel comfortable and gain confidence. He is very knowledgeable, and teaches in a way that is easy to understand. He not only focused on me just passing the test, but also taught me the skills to be a safe driver. Thank you so much for helping me get my license!

I recently took classes through them. Scott was my trainer. I shared details about how much experience I have as a novice driver and the inhibitions and areas that need improvement. Scott monitored me in local roads on the first day and taught me a Freeway class on the second day. He was calm and friendly in teaching and giving instructions as I drove.

He shared inputs about what could be done better and what I was doing good. That sort of boosted my confidence. I have slowly started driving with more confidence and hoping to be a good driver soon. The other helpful part with these folks is that they pick and drop you at your own address. They charged $75 per 1 hr class.