I've heard a lot of mixed reviews from this place but my experience with Josh and Elliot was very engaging and helpful, I would recommend them as instructors but maybe not dds as a whole. the one thing that turns me off is the high baseline price and all the extra fees for basically everything. read more

Lincoln has been a great teacher and the lessons he gives engage and excite me about driving! can't wait to get better at driving and advance with this school! - Henry Simpson read more

Ok, who is choosing the songs to play during breaks for the zoom classes? It's been everything from songs with very explicit lyrics to religious songs telling us to pray to Jesus. Is it really that hard to pick a neutral song when you're running classes geared towards teens? Not a fan. Not professional. My first negative review. Also it's hard to get ahold of someone to get your questions answered. read more

Online classes maximally annoying and wasting of your time. Don't bother doing their online classes. They enforce minimum time on the page and don't let you click next if you are a fast reader. Instead you need to wait for their estimate which basically assumes you have a reading disability. So the test wastes your time. To make things more Orwellian and waste more time and to pretend that they are important enough to be hacked, they do security checks throughout where you need to answer security questions or do OTAs. Just avoid this company, they clearly think lowly of their students and don't respect them enough to make reasonable Ui. read more

Both of my teens have taken their classes at DDS, online, and we had no issues. We did read all the fine print for everything, and we made sure to schedule/reschedule when needed, as quickly as possible. Not every in-person driving instructor was great (a couple just seemed like they genuinely don't like other people, one of my kids had a woman was SO ridiculously nitpicky with my kid), so a star knocked down for that. Both of my kids' online teachers were fantastic. read more

I don't believe the $780 price tag is justified. While the school provides a vehicle for five 1-hour sessions, the vast majority of the actual teaching and 'heavy lifting' falls on the parents. For nearly $800, I expected more than just the bare minimum of professional drive time. Instead, parents are left to deal with the anxiety of teaching 45+ hours in their own vehicles and worrying about potential wrecks. The value just isn't there for the amount of work the parents still have to do. read more

My daughter just completed the written test and ran into a bunch of questions not covered by the class.

Maybe if there are enough negative reviews here the owner of this place will figure out that charging people for illness and classes that need to be canceled for emergencies is not worth the nickel and dime profits when it makes your customers upset and drives your ratings on Yelp down. Countless businesses operate on the principle that it's always worth it to value your customers and eat some fees rather than being stingy and ripping people off and pissing off your customer base... why can't you? I also don't have the heart to call out my bad driving instructor by name, suffice it to say that Lukas and Bryan were great and I would highly recommend avoiding anyone who's not them. One guy loves nothing more than saying "that's not my job" if you ask him anything about licensing or info that it's totally reasonable for a driving instructor to have ****some**** clue about or at least be the tiniest bit polite in referring someone elsewhere. When I finally saw this gentleman doing his job, teaching driving, he skipped the entire process he's supposed to do at the end of the lesson, and the first thing he asked me, while driving, was, "Should I have done what I just did?" The answer was no. Maybe be decent at your actual job if you love the "'not my job" excuse so much. read more

My daughter caught the flu. Symptoms started 24 hr before her driving test. I called twice and pleaded to reschedule but policy is firm at 48hrs. Not very customer friendly. 79$ reschedule fee. read more

The online drivers workshop and zoom call were really informative and made the knowledge test easy to pass. If you need extra practice there are quizlets and youtube practice tests that helped me study as well. For the in person driving lessons I'd highly highly highly recommend Lukas or Bryan. They were extremely patient, encouraging, and didn't make me feel incompetent when asking questions or being nervous behind the wheel. Which for other instructors that will not be named, it seemed as if they forgot I was there to learn to drive and made me feel miserable. I wanted to get out of the car as soon as possible and did not want to be in there presence ever again in my life. Hoping to pass my drivers skills test soon and feel comfortable and confident behind the wheel thanks to them! read more

The online zoom classes were pretty good with Clay and Vincent as Clay kept the class fun and lighthearted while still explaining things very well. Vincent was patient with questions as a support person whereas Josh and Tina were absolutely awful as support people, often interrupting class just to complain about students who they thought were asking stupid questions, keep in mind all of these kids have never driven or learned much about it which is completely redundant. As for the drives. These two clearly do not care about teaching and its surprising they should even be allowed to. Tyson was pretty good, a bit awkward, but kind and didn't put too much pressure on you and made you feel confident while still giving kind constructive criticism. Kate was a completely different story, she is a walking disaster. She is the equivalent of a helicopter parent taking the wheel when she absolutely does not need to and breaking. During my drive test i did not even get to go for 5 minutes! Before she needed to take the wheel for "recklessness and dangerous driving" right as I was already stopping at an unprotected green left as soon as i saw another car coming. She is an awful perfectionist and while I understand driving is an immense responsibility, she ruins you before you even have a chance. After she does so, she attempts to say encouraging things but her face is saying a the complete opposite, not just showing she does not care about you but that she is lying straight to your face. She even told me she gets test anxiety too, which is ridiculous because then you would think she would have a lot more humility in her! She made me feel as though I was an awful driver and I did not even want to try and take the test again ever again after this experience. After that I did not want to leave a review because I thought it was all my faught because she made me feel like it was. I had to switch to the West Seattle location just to take my drive and surprise, surprise, I passed easily because it in fact wasnt my fault, and she was just a helicopter, overbearing, negative teacher. I would STRONGLY advise ever taking a drive or test with her if you can help it otherwise, she will probably make you feel the same way too. My test with Marty was great he was nice and made sure to go out of his way and ask + explain how a new version of a car worked before my test, so I was completely prepared. read more

Do not recommend. Driving lessons were not that informative and they overcharge for missing one day. Greedy business.

Time is of the essence. My child leaves to serve our country in May. It is currently March and I am told there are no openings until June. Also, another company offered a 24 hour in class defensive driving course that includes 8 hours of drive time for $420 for my eldest son whereas Black Swamp is quoting $150 per 2 hours of driving and still has nothing to offer for another 3 months!! read more

At least some instructors (perhaps all) at the U District location of the Defensive Driving School are illegally parking in the bike lane in the front of their location. A driving school should set an exemplary example of only parking legally and safely, not endangering cyclists and implicitly teaching its students to do the same. read more

I had terrible experience with the school. The coach has different levels of professionalism but what really made things worse is their service. As a customer of this school you will receive emails that suddenly provide new expiration date to your purchase. And the schools manager was very rude and hang up on your phone even during the course of communication. Consequently you may end up with unused packages ($500 in value) that expires on their rule vs actual service fulfillment. read more

Their policies make no sense. Someone to tell this company that they're offering testing through the free market, NOT the government. Take your business elsewhere. There are plenty of testing sites, including same-day testing! read more

=== Update in response to owner's Yelp reply on 8/16/2021=== The owner replied claiming that I was being misleading in their refund policy and that they couldn't find account under my name. So I'm posting the previous email responses from their customer service, quoted without touching a character. I'm leaving out names of the exact customer representatives as the replies were from two different people with different titles, implying this being their company policy rather than individual judgement. In both emails they acknowledged the existence of my account. In one email they addressed me with the same name I'm posting reviews with. And in both emails they indicated there is no way to continue my lessons nor to get a refund for unused classes. " Hello, Thank you for reaching out, I see your previous products were purchased in 2017. Unfortunately, unused products do expire after three months of purchase and these would no longer be usable. You'd need to register for new products if you would like to schedule appointments for lessons or testing. " " Hello Yilin, My admin team has filled me in on your situation. The terms and conditions were given to you at the time of purchase in 2017. Understand that you feel 3 months is not enough time. I apologize that you feel we were being deceptive. Again, you were given the terms and conditions of your purchase. It is your responsibility to schedule your products or communicate with us. Your products expired over 4 years ago. Your account has been closed. We wish you the best of luck. " Again, I'm disgusted by the lack of integrity of the way this business is operating. I would not trust them enough to settle anything over phone call, where records are harder to share on Yelp. Nor would I trust them enough to continue my lessons there. read more

DDS has very convenient location, which might be the reason for why they're so complacent and not at all customer-friendly. One gets the feeling similar to dealing with the DMV. The first instructor apparently taught the boss how to drive and the 'fame' has gotten into his head. No patience at all, let's you know how bored he is that he has to this work at all and what a burden you are for him (DMV feel). I naively purchase a whole packet of lessons, however, during the summer months they're extremely busy so it's almost impossible to book lessons. Because of this my lessons expired and I was offered no refund and only a short extension. I was only able to use up half of my rides. Dishonest, couldn't-care-less attitude. Take your business elsewhere. See this reply below from DDS which justifies their taking my money without rendering the services. Great way to make money, congratulations to them. read more

This driving school has very unclear extra fee policies. My 16 year old needed more practice on certain skills and they charged 259 extra on top of the thousand dollar package for that lesson. My 19 year old got his permit during Covid, did not have a single lesson after that as he went away to College the next year. When we asked for the lessons later they said "sorry, the policy is that it expires in a year." So I paid almost 695$ for a permit. No flexibility, grace or leeway. Avoid this company! read more

Clay and Vincent are both very funny and the class has taught me a lot of stuff I didn't know about before

In Zoom class, there was frequent racism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism in class from the teachers & students. Transgender students were very frequently deadnamed. It felt like I was on 4chan. The teachers did the bare minimum of teaching. The class sizes were way too large and teachers barely moderated the chat. Attending classes was very overwhelming and stressful. Some of us developed friendships over chat, but we were not allowed to exchange contact information or talk to each other privately. My teacher was Tyson, by the way, but I don't think any of these problems were unique to him. During the drives, teachers covered the material too quickly. I cried sometimes after the drives because it was so difficult, and I know I wasn't the only one. I am autistic and this was very difficult for me - I didn't formally seek accommodations so maybe it would have been better if I did, but regardless, if you're autistic I advise you to go elsewhere. Also, it's better to get lots of practice before the drives - don't expect to learn anything from them. There was also some racism but not as bad as on the Zoom classes. At least the teachers always wore masks and kept the windows open! Also, they weren't abusive or anything. Just, the teaching style didn't work for me. My dad, who accompanied me, though, said it helped him for when he was helping me practice. In general, it felt like we were getting the bare minimum of teaching. It seemed like teachers would pass students no matter what because that was how they got their money. read more

Our daughter had a great experience with DDS. Her instructor on Zoom was amazing and engaging. Her drives were a hands on learning experience that she could take with her on drives with her parents. I would not hesitate to utilize this school for my future kids. Thank you for helping to give my child confidence in her driving abilities and teaching her so much. read more

My driver instructor make me call him "Papa D" Its pretty weird but at least i know how to drive now i guess

Clarity does not exist to this driving school. My sister, going through drivers ed was forced to schedule everything way too early. Instructors and staff were unclear and rude to any and all questions asked. Driving instructors should be expected to not switch up at the test and become rude and inconsiderate. Being rude and scaring young drivers is not cool. Not giving information to driver's during a test is dumb, rude and literally is setting them up for failure. read more

I was quite surprised to find that Washington does not allow the transfer of driver license of my state, and I have to take a road test. I was shocked when being told that I failed the test marginally, even though I have been driving in North America safely for 15+ years. All of the these question marks vanished right away when I see news "Seattle driving school caught selling passing driving test grades". I still remember the first question of the examiner: "is this you first time test?" My honest answer "yes" payed the way for the subsequent failure and the re-test revenue stream for the driving school. Perhaps the DMW's have pricing regulation on the road test; if so, lowering the passing rate is the trick to make more money. There are even competitions among driving schools. While I was waiting for my test at the Defensive Driving School, a young folk (a UW student?) passed by and asked for the direction to the 911 Driving School, the workers of the Defensive Driving immediately said that they offer the same service and palmed a business card off on him. That moment brought me back the swamp of Louisiana. read more

Christain is a very good teacher and examiner. He told me the tips and pointed out what I should beware before the drive test. He is nice and not a kind of intimidating examiner. He was patient even though I did a lot of mistakes and taught me the right things. Also, the staff is polite and very helpful when I called them. read more

Christian made me very nervous. He was constantly in road rage when I made mistake.He does not have patience and made me very anxious during the lesson. I couldn't take it any longer and had to cut the lesson short and go back. I am paying considerable amount of money per session and now I'm more scared, anxious and nervous about driving than before. It was only my second lesson and I have never driven a car before this. Horrible experience. read more

Driving school is always a scary thought, I went to this driving school for drivers ed, my knowledge test, and my skills test. I'm amazed with this school and every single instructor I had was amazing! Jimmy Green was my skills test instructor and was absolutely amazing! Extremely helpful and was an amazing person! I recommend this driving school completely. read more

I was surprised to read that people had negative experiences with Defensive Driving School. I have only praise for the driving school and in particular Bryan who was my instructor. When I started taking lessons I lacked confidence on US roads(having relocated from the UK) but Bryan was patient, instructive and gave constructive feedback. I took a number of lessons and left a much more confident, informed driver. Thanks, Bryan! read more

Can't say enough good things about Marty at the West Seattle location. This was my son's instructor and really set him up for success for passing both the exam and the driving test. When our youngest son is ready, we will be looking for Marty's class times for sure. read more

Defensive Driving will get you your license, but not without significant hassle. Scheduling lessons and testing sessions is a challenge. The website is difficult to navigate and the phone operators are terse and offer little help. It is impossible to be registered with two Defensive locations simultaneously, so all lessons must be taken at the same place. The instructors provide solid feedback during lessons, but can be somewhat inflexible about their teaching methods. While classroom lessons contain the necessary content, they are far from engaging. read more

I had an okay experience with this school. That said, whether or not you have a good experience is exclusively determined your instructor. I took a course here a few years ago with 2 instructors. My main instructor did a fair job and I passed the driving test. That said, I did not feel comfortable interacting with him and having him as my instructor and passenger when I was trying to learn. There is something about this attitude or maybe his lack of patience. My substitute instructor, however, was fantastic. He was very understanding and gave me plenty of pointers and tips that I never learned from the other guy. I do not recall their names as it has been a few years now, but i'd say just make sure you have a good instructor and you will learn a lot. read more

Background: I took several adult driving lessons, knowledge and skills tests here. From out of country and I was looking to adjust to driving on a different side. Best instructor: Doug I've taken lessons from 3-4 instructors and Doug was the best, for me. His teaching style suited me the most. He lets you drive and make (safe) mistakes on your own. Then he gives feedback at the right time. This teaching style gave me confidence to drive and improve on my maneuvers etc. Other instructors I had often give feedback at the moment I'm about to/when I'm making mistake which I found, deterred my learning as I got anxious thinking about not making mistake rather than focusing on driving. He says he mostly work from another location so he only comes down to the U District location a few days a week. In my experience, he's hard to schedule for and best to schedule 2 - 4 weeks in advance. Second best: Bryan He taught me quite a bit about driving best practices such as letting the car move a little while turning the wheel etc. I appreciate these tips and advice but sometimes found them too overwhelming to remember every details while driving and made me anxious thinking about doing everything perfect. But his feedbacks are always on point and he's always cheerful. read more

Classes and driving instructors are mostly good, and we are happy with the instruction. However, the driving lesson cancellation process for illness is basically non-existent, as they make you pay a $75 cancellation fee if you get sick within their 48 hour cancellation window. So, if you get sick the day prior or the day of your scheduled drive, you can't cancel without accruing a $75 fee, and you can't take another drive lesson until you pay it. They will allow a cancellation for a PCR positive COVID test, but as it takes 24-48 hours to get a result, you wouldn't know if you're positive or negative by the time your drive is scheduled. So, basically, it encourages people to go to their drive lesson sick, and risk infecting the instructor. If you cancel your drive lesson, and your COVID test turns out negative, you are still stuck with the fee (although they said they would discount it). Even if it is not COVID, and is a viral URI or influenza, this is still a bad idea to sit in a closed car with a sick person, masks or no masks. The supervisor said that people were taking advantage of the cancellation policy, and that the instructors don't get paid if the drive is cancelled. But I imagine they don't get paid if they are out sick for a week either. read more

TL;DR: Highly recommend this school and their adult driving packages - great lessons and superb instructors (especially Doug!) I'm an adult who never got a license as a teenager due to moving around a lot and living abroad. After a solid decade of always being "The Friend Who Can't Drive," I finally decided to do something about it! I checked out most of the driving schools in the Seattle area and eventually opted for DDS for several reasons: their adult driving packages are one of the best deals around, they were very responsive and helpful by phone, and their location in the U District is super convenient. Since I don't have easy access to a car to practice, I signed up for a package that covered DOL testing and 10 lessons. I couldn't be happier with my choice. DDS has a handy online system for scheduling lessons, and plenty of available timeslots on weekends and weekday evenings to accommodate adult learners. Their cars are in good condition and the lessons always ran smoothly and on time. You get to practice in a variety of settings - residential neighborhoods, city areas, on the freeway - as you get more comfortable driving. Most of my lessons were with Doug, though I had a few with James and Tyson as well. All were good, but Doug was superb. Despite being nervous at first about driving, I found myself looking forward to our lessons each week. He's very patient, great at putting you at ease, and excellent at calmly giving feedback and pointers as you're driving. He taught me everything I needed to drive safely and confidently, and even made parallel parking simple and intuitive. Thanks to Doug and DDS, I was able to pass the skills test on my first attempt! I really can't recommend them highly enough. Now I'm looking forward to being able to get to trailheads and finally pulling my own weight on road trips! read more

This was a great driving school for my 15-year old daughter. She started in Feb. and was able to switch to online classes due to COVID with no issues. Mostly, though, I am writing to give a SHOUTOUT to DOUGLAS ERICKSON, her favorite driving lesson instructor. He is super professional and caring. I was able to attend the first class with her and was quite impressed on how easy it was for him to connect with my daughter, which is a bit shy and has a hard time talking to adults. After the first class, she had a few with other instructions, but whenever possible, including the final test drive, we made sure to schedule with Douglas, who went above and beyond to not only teach her everything, he made small talk and made her feel less nervous and more confident. Also, the phone customer service was stellar. read more

I took a road test with warm up with Christian. Just as the previous reviews said, Christian Holtz makes me feel so nervous. He keeps criticizing my speed of driving as well as given no clues when practicing. I feel overwhelmed and did not pass the test. After I failed the test the examiner said that I could have chance to pass but because I am too nervous that I failed. It is interesting because he is the person who makes me feel nervous and not confident about my driving skills. He keeps saying driving faster without stop. read more

This is a good driving school, however what made it excellent was my experience with the best driving instructor Doug Erickson. He was by far the best instructor that I got to learn from. Not only is he kind and patient, but he makes it clear that he trusts you when you are driving. This helps build confidence on the road, while giving you room to learn and grow. When you make a mistake, he will provide feedback after, as opposed to reprimanding you on the spot, which is distracting and can cause you to second-guess all your actions after, which is not helpful at all when driving on a busy road (another instructor did this, which made that lesson a little more challenging). I only did the five-lesson package and had a couple other instructors, but if you're only doing a few lessons, I highly recommend sticking to one instructor, as each will have their own method of teaching different driving skills and it's important to focus on one style/method, then build your skills from there. Again, if you are interested in signing up for this school, go for DOUG!! He's seriously the best instructor and will teach you what you need to know to be a successful driver. read more

Kathleen was my daughters drive instructor. In the height of Covid-19, Kathleen did not wear a mask in the car during the drive causing anxiety and stress to my daughter. In addition, Kathleen was emotionally abusive and called my daughter dumb. It seems we paid to get abused and put at health risk by this lady. Totally unacceptable behavior. read more

I had my lesson with JC, who was a real gentleman. He was calm and professional even when I nearly scraped the car lol. 100 dollars per lesson is not cheap but includes insurance. Will be going back for more lessons. read more