Getting my CDL through Driving Academy has been an incredible experience. Like anyone, I was nervous going into the test, but the instructors gave me all the tips and support I needed to succeed. Without Driving Academy, I wouldn't have my CDL. Honestly, words can't describe how grateful I am. Everyone here is friendly, supportive, and always willing to help when you ask. They really make you feel like you're not alone in the process. All of the instructors are highly professional and experienced. They genuinely want every student to pass and are willing to go the extra mile for those who may be struggling. A special shoutout to Manuel who's an excellent instructor with deep knowledge and experience. Even though I already drove manual daily, he taught me a more efficient way to downshift. He's tough, expects the best, and pushes you to improve, which is exactly what makes great drivers. I highly recommend Driving Academy to anyone looking to get their CDL. It's changed my life! read more

i feel that i fell into a spider web where there is a big conspirancy going on, this people dont want nobody to get their CDL and is not hard to tell that all they care for is their business and money. They dont have a solid structure and they dont even teach right. The people that do the final test is in this conspirancy and obviously they want you to fail so you keep paying hours and tests. i have seen very few people pass. When you go to PA for the final test is like you going to trail to fight for your life, they have these mean faces and build this horrible tension in the air. That is so unnecessary! i hope somebody gets to expose this conspirancy, because some people is really trying to get better in life and is hard to be in a school where they dont want you to succeed. is not a secret that all this people know each other and they have one goal...keep you stuck at school paying for more hours whenever you go to PA for your final test just keep one thing in mind, it doesnt matter how prepared you are...you will fail they will find the most stupid escused to fail you My advised for you is to find a good school obviously not this one. there is couple of good people that work there and i hate to do this but heyyyy its my life and im paying for this and i have put all my effort to succeed in this and so far i crash into brick wall read more

I completed the 16-hour ELDT course at Driving Academy in Linden, NJ, paying $2,200 for the training. Despite finishing everything, they never submitted my certificate to the FMCSA as promised, which has blocked me from moving forward with my testing. Instead, they push students to test only at their own facility, charging $450 for every retest if you fail once. Because they won't submit the certificate, you're not even able to test at a public state facility. To me, this feels like unethical practices, if not a scam. I've called countless times over the past four months with no resolution or follow-up. My permit is now about to expire, and I've had no choice but to report them to the Better Business Bureau. This whole process has been a financial burden, a huge waste of time, and a constant source of frustration. Poor communication, lack of accountability, and questionable practices make this academy one I strongly warn others to avoid. read more

If you are going to take your road test in pa you need to pray a lot and be prepared for disappointment because they will fail you and ask you to pay for an early appointment. If you are black trust me you will spend 6 or 7 or times or months before passing the test,specially the old dude with the gray hair and glasses is the worst, they want to fail you and ask you for money after, they don't watch anything you are doing during the test because they already set up their mind to fail you.My biggest regret in life is enrolled in this school linden nj. I fall for this bs advertisement on YouTube read more

This place is a money grab! Every time you take the test it's $450... on my son's third "attempt", he clearly parked inside the designated lines, but the instructor said he was outside the line. When he went to take a picture, was told no photos allowed. He took the picture anyway and you can clearly see he was inside the line! This place is a ripoff!! We already reached out to BBB and OSHA!! We have begged to talk to the company owner and that obviously got us nowhere! Save your money, time and frustration, stay away from Driving Academy, 200 Edgar Rd. Linden, NJ!!! We had another son use EZ Driving in Dover and he passed the state CDL class A test first try.... Didn't have to drive to PA, EZ took him straight to the state testing center and he passed with a CERTIFIED STATE EXAMINER!!! Zero stars for this lousy business!!! read more

Driving Academy - Clearly inside the line! - Driving Schools Near Me - Linden, New Jersey

I had a terrible experience with Driving Academy. The trucks they use are extremely old and barely feel roadworthy. Instructors are rude, unhelpful, and act like you're wasting their time if you ask questions. For the high price they charge, you'd expect better equipment and support--but instead, you get delays and frustration. They advertise 4 hours of yard time, but in reality, you get two rushed 30-minute parking sessions, and that's only after watching a generic video explaining how to do the maneuvers. Actual hands-on practice is minimal. Testing dates are scheduled way too far out, which delays your entire process. On top of that, the office staff constantly gives conflicting information--one person tells you one thing, another says the complete opposite. It's unorganized and unprofessional from start to finish. If i could i would give them a zero. The only thing I would give them 5 stars on is online marketing. read more

First let me say my family had such a disappointing experience with Driving Academy. This place had put such a damper on one of my family member spirit. Had them thinking they were incapable of learning how to drive a tractor. Gave no support at all. Til my family just gave up. Until they found the right school. Have them one on one lessons. Explain everything. Went over everything. Had my family member excited about returning the next day for their lesson. The only thing my family has to show about driving academy is the over expensive bill. I feel as if they stole from me and my family. Thank you driving Academy for nothing. But I want this school to know they did not break my family member spirit and they did get their CDL. read more

total waste of time and money!!!!! they do not care about the students at all!!!! all they care about is how much money they can squeeze out of you!!!! the "guaranteed program" really means they are going to fail you multiple times!!!! practically everyone fails multiple times!!! this school is a total scam!!!!! testing instructors are either on their phone while your testing or they are dumping all their personal problems on you during the test!!! they are terrible at this school!!! i deeply regret going to this school!!!!!! read more

Pass on Driving Academy. John, the owner, has gone on the record to stay that the school teaches people to pass the test. Not for nothing but would you want to go to school to learn how to pass a test to drive an 80,000 pound truck or would you rather go to a school to teach you how to drive and operate an 80,000 pound truck? There's a lot of liability out there today being behind the wheel of any vehicle let alone a tractor trailer. How do I know what this program was like I would've gone to a different school. I wasted a lot of money going here, for a little bit more I could've gone to a school and learned how to drive and operate a truck properly not just pass the test. Jonathan loves to breach the pre-trip but the pre-trip inspection does not teach you proper driving. Learning in a parking lot does not provide you the proper techniques to drive. Driving academy, misses the key component in driver training. Driving. Pass on D A and learn how to drive and operate trucks properly and safely, go somewhere else your safety along with safety of others and your liability is at stake. read more

They do not provide true training. John the owner likes to throw it back to the students but here is the thing. You can't learn to drive a 35 foot truck in a parking lot. You can't learn to drive a 35 foot truck when your time is 70% parking practice, 20% pre trip inspection practice, 10% on the road practice. If you doubt the statistics, ask to visit the parking lot where they have the trucks and watch, no study the rotation. Count the number of instructors to students. My last thought is this. You practice in New Jersey and test in Pennsylvania. Another thought to consider. There are other schools that teach you, a better student to instructor ratio. John, your only goal is a million people to pay you. read more

Terrible school, and terrible sales associates. The people who greet you are no degree having, talentless sales associate that never have driven or touch a truck, they work on commission so no they dont care if things are over booked and when you find that out its too late since you signed a contract on no refound. Go to ez wheel thats where i got my cdl. Escuela terrible, y asociados de ventas terribles. Las personas que te saludan no tienen título, asociados de ventas sin talento que nunca han conducido ni tocado un camión, trabajan a comisión, así que no les importa si las cosas están sobreventadas y cuando te enteras de eso es demasiado tarde ya que firmaste un contrato sin reemordo. Ve a EZwheel, ahí es donde conseguí mi cdl. read more

This school is horrible, When you sign up at the office, they sell you a dream but when you go to the yard for training it's completely different. They are not organized and uncoordinated. First, you sign a document that states that you understand that the school cannot guarantee one on one training with an instructor but when they are trying that you sing up with them no body mentions the 'no one to one training', also they have brochures that don't mention the one on one training, The contract should state that there is NO one on one guiding you in the yard, you just go and start doing everything by yourself. After I signed up, I had to wait 35 days for my first training day, they do that on purpose because to cancel the contract you only have 3 days. There is no consistent training time and I just lost more than a month waiting. When I arrived the first day. Trucks are really bad shape and You pretty much have to teach yourself on everything, I went to do the air brake test in a truck that they have for that purpose and the truck brake system don't hold the pressure. the training to drive the truck itself is only 1/2 an hour a day that means if you go 9 days to do training you only have 4.5 hours of driving training and is only first come first served with no guarantee, that means you are lucky if you have 2 turns in the same day. I arrived at the office and then they give you a piece of paper and then you can go to the yard, wasting your time because they should do that at the yard. They lack communication and the TEACHERS IN THE YARD ARE ALWAYS TALKING AND TALKING to each other and THEY DONT CARE ABOUT you, THEY ARE ALWAYS CHILLING that makes you feel bad. When I decided that the school wasn't for me was when they said is your turn to drive after 2;30 hours waiting and I jumped in the truck and nobody was there with me, I have to figured out how to start the truck, release the brakes because the trailer brake knob was missing and how to switch gears, imagine all that by yourself you can cause and accident and kill someone right there. It took me like 10 minutes to start and then I started to go back and forward, doing it bad because nobody was guiding me, I jumped out of the truck because it makes no sense to keep doing it by yourself if you do not know what you are doing wrong. Next day I call and I talked to the manager and I told him that with that mess that they have in the yard with 36 hours (the package that I chose) I s not enough to learn how to drive in a save way, and he told me "that's your fault because you choose the cheapest course" (3,800 dollars) and I told him why you didn't tell me at the beginning that this course is not good for student with no knowledge why I have to find out after I paid 1000 and they said is not refundable. I told him the contract says that 400 is the deposit and is not refundable I accept that but I paid 1000 thinking to pay off the course fast, You should refund me the 600 dollars that I paid extra and he told me that they do not refund any money. After I told the manager that I'm not coming back, I removed my credit card from their system and next day, they charged me 933 dollars for next payment this is unbelievable, I called again and the manager told me to send an email with the transaction to reverse it, i did that and I wait and they didn't and i started a dispute with my credit card company but credit card company said that their contract is designed to not refund any money because they know what they are doing. Do not waste your time with this place. before signing up, take a trip to the yard where training is conducted and observe before making that decision because they will sign you up before taking you to the yard. Driving Academy offers very little driving and even less instruction. Do your homework, after they stole my money I found out that another school offer 120 hours with one to one training for 4,000 dollars read more

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I'm a current student, but by the time you read this, it mite be too late. please go somewhere else! I can't make it any simpler than that. the staff "ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT CARE". From a student point the training is horrible .You are looking for motivation? this is not for you. You pretty much have to teach yourself how to correctly parallel park, and offset park a 60 foot truck During the 4 hours you are at the "training yard" you will get about at best 3 opportunities at 15 minutes each, IF your lucky. The school offers no guarantee that an "instructor" will help you, and they stick to that,they throw you in and you're on your own. The students at the yard look upset just walking around waiting to get behind the wheel. they pay for 4 hours a day and only get 1 hour with no instructor, they overbooked the classes to make sure to get the most money per month as possible. read more

If I could give 0 stars I would!!! November of last year I was looking for a CDL school who offers third party testing so that I could upgrade my Class B. I came across this school and being that it was in NJ and I live in NY I decided to look for something else after I submitted my request of for more info. They kept calling and calling but being that I had already made up my mind I just kept ignoring their calls. Then one Sunday at around 8pm I receive a call from a different number and being that literally no one calls u that late specially on a Sunday expect someone who actually knows u I picked up and it was Jonathan or jimmy I don't remember exactly. But he basically begged me to give them a chance which I ended up doing and set up an appointment for me to go and tour the school. I went to their office and everything seemed super nice and professional so I was actually excited to start the classes being that they made everything sound like a dream. After I paid the money they told me I would have to wait a month and a half to begin my classes which kind of sucked but I had already paid and couldn't get my money back being that they make u sign a contract which makes you agree to never getting your money back. Then my very first day of class arrived and it was the total opposite of what they told me in the office. Out of the 4 hours of class they gave me daily I would only sit in a truck for 30 minutes because there where too many students and not enough functional trucks. Most trucks had power steering issues or air leaks which would make your 30 minutes of seat time more of a struggle and a pleasure. Another thing they failed to mention is that they only take you on the road one time for total of 30 minutes out of all the hours you paid for. When I went for my test which I also had to wait another month after my final class they didn't want to test me because of an error the lady in their office made. I called their office multiple times to re schedule and Jimmy the manager made me feel like I should be thankful that I wasn't getting charged to re test for a mistake they made and also threatened me with talking to the test instructor in other words to fail me. I asked to speak to someone else and everyone had the same nasty attitude until I finally got a hold of the supervisor Jody which ended up telling me "just look past that". They re scheduled me for a test almost 2 months after and before I even arrived the test instructor called me on my phone about an hour before my test to ask if I was showing up. The entire time he spoke to me he had a sarcastic smirk and didn't listen to a word I said. I completely my air brakes test and I'm cab inspection then proceeded to do my pre trip and went over the truck twice to make sure I didn't forget anything. He ended up failing me because I didn't say there is no space left between my 5th wheel and trailer for which I did mention my apron lays flat on my 5th wheel. The anger I felt when he told me this was such that I began to laugh and just cooled down. On the way back to my car he began talking to me and asked me what I do for a living so I explained to him the following. I own a trucking company and dispatch for multiple owner operators as well. He asked me how's the money and how much I paid my drivers and told me "maybe one day I can come work for you" yeah ok!! About a week later Jonathan the owner makes a video on their YouTube titled " Did the Examiner fail you on purpose?" What a coincidence Jonathan. I'm a second generation trucker I'm not in this industry just for the money I'm in this industry because of the love that I have for trucks unlike the following school here so going through this situation and seeing how they play with peoples money really pissed me off. Took me a while to calm down and write this but here's the story of the biggest mistake I've made money wise. Good luck!! read more

Driving Academy - Driving Schools Near Me - Linden, New Jersey

Important!!! Read below! Stay away at all costs!!! Several weeks ago between 8/23/23 - 9/11/23 while I was attending in-class video training at this school I noticed that they had photos of all their students Driver's License identification cards available in the photos of all the iPads located in the classroom area for general student use (literally hundreds of students personal license photos with full information dating as far back as 2019). All of the iPads were linked to the company's iCloud account & information was being shared on all the iPads. At first I didn't really think anything of it. A few weeks later I alerted Driving Academy staff (Billy, Rose & Ian) of the huge personal information security breach and they seemed alarmed. Any student who used these iPads would have had access to these photos as they were not password protected. They have not notified their students that our personal information has been compromised. Also, I have been attending Yard Training classes as of 10/16/23... Driving Academy is operating several Class A/B Trucks without working/ deleted SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) Systems. This is the system designed to reduce harmful diesel emissions produced by the exhaust & engine. This is illegal. I was a certified New Jersey State Diesel Emissions Inspector at Inter City Tire- Truck Center in Elizabeth, Maintenance & Repair Department Manager at Ironbound Intermodal Industries, Inc. in Newark & am currently a Service Advisor/ Inspector at Newark Truck Center & Voyager Trucking Corp. in Newark. Furthermore, they have students practicing driving maneuvers in the yard with Trailers that are not coupled to the Tractors Air Brake or Electrical Systems. This renders the Trailer inoperable, the Emergency Brakes on the Trailers have also been disabled because without being coupled the Trailer Brakes should automatically apply due to the Emergency Brake Spring Mechanism. Thus the Trailers move freely and are only stopped by the Tractor brakes, if the Tractor Brake System fails during training the Trailer Emergency Brakes will not apply and stop the vehicle. Which can result in damage, injuries or even death. This is extremely unsafe, especially in an environment with new inexperienced drivers. Instructors/ students are often standing directly in front of the moving vehicles and not keeping safe distances. The Trucks also have serious brake lag time due to improperly adjusted/ maintained Brake Systems & the Trailer Brakes being inoperable. This is dangerous because the vehicle will take longer to come to a full stop due to this brake lag. Many instructors also lack basic knowledge that you would expect from a professional cdl driving school. I asked an instructor to demonstrate an in-cab inspection for me. He would have failed. He forgot to disengage the Parking Brakes while testing the Service Brake System (he didn't do this as a test, he admitted he messed up after I called him out on his error). I am weary to continue attending this CDL school. This is very unprofessional and unsafe behavior/ equipment, I believe this school needs to be investigated by the proper authorities immediately. The guy in all the training videos (I was told by staff he is the owner) actually has a lot of valuable knowledge to offer his students. The videos contain a lot of accurate well thought out information and procedures. But I don't understand why they don't practice what they preach... Whoever is in charge of the daily operations of the company is severely lacking and needs to be terminated effective immediately -Alberto Rosario read more

The yard manager Eric was a great help. As well as my trainers Ahkil, Pierre and Marvin/Mass. My driver instructor did amazing with teaching me the roadway. I passed my first time. read more

Driving Academy - Driving Schools Near Me - Linden, New Jersey

driving academy school linden nj are the instructors & examiners. you will be taking the test in state of pa at their facility not with dmv new jersey state. they control everything. they will not teach the proper techniques required to maneuver these vehicles. their strategy is teach you squat! and keep offering you additional classes. apparently jonathan the youtube sensation is well connected in the trucking industry and has massive of videos on youtube informing people that he has the best driving school in the us. do not fall for this trap! warning stay away. while watching these videos i was convinced this was the school. i thought jonathan was a genius in the industry,oh boy i was wrong. my journey to become a truck driver has been a complete nightmare. i never expected to spend 8k and still don't know how to parallel park. when you first enter the facility in linden nj they treat you awesome. they give you real customer service. don't fall for the trap. before you give them any money ask them to take take you to the yard and look at their trucks (garbage) their training yard is like a pot of soup, they throw you in and you're on your own. they have 8 trucks that are garbage. the mirrors hang so you can't really see anything. the doors don't open and close properly, the shifting is hard because the clutch bad condition. i don't understand why the motor carrier association has not investigate this school. the students at the yard look upset just walking around waiting to get behind the wheel. they pay for 4 hours a day and only get 1 hour with no instructor. dear jonathan youtuber you are a horrible person taking from less fortunate. you belong in jail your schemes read more

WORST SCHOOL EVER DO NOT COME TO THE JACKSON LOCATION They will take your money, not train you and lie about it, then lie on you and drop you from the school. Waste of time and money. LISTEN TO ALL THE NEGATIVE REVIEWS THEY'RE ALL TRUE. You will stand or sit around in the yard more than you'll ever be behind the wheel learning. Too many students not enough trucks, they're always breaking down or just not present. And out of 4 hrs you'll get like 15-20 minutes of learning behind the wheel. There were DAYS that so many would come and not even get a chance to drive that's how over booked it was as well. EVERYONE SHOULD CALL THE BBB THIS SCHOOL IS TRASH. I'M STILL GONNA ACHIEVE MY CDL BUT FROM A BETTER SCHOOL STARTING MONDAY read more

I called this place several times looking for information. They were very unprofessional on the phone. I spoke to 3 different people who all told me that they would email me information on the programs they offer. I haven't received any emails with the information I requested but they are now calling and texting me everyday. Seems to me like their shitty reviews are accurate since they can't figure out how to send an email or realize that they are calling/texting to talk, when we've already talked 3x. How could I possibly trust them with 4K for a program when they can't get the basics right? read more

Please stay away from this awful school. they must've paid for reviews on google because their curriculum is terrible. in the office they promise you I hope in a dream because they want your money. This is by far the shittiest tractor-trailer school, probably in the United States. i wouldn't go back there for free. they promise one on one training it's a lie. they overbooked the classes to make sure to get the most money per month as possible. don't be surprised when you see 40 students and 5 instructors who don't really even like their jobs. I had two good people to deal with Eric and akell. Billy the manager is a lying bitch no other way to put it. he's a snake in the grass and lies just to get people to sign up. read more

TRUST THE REVIEWS, THIS PLACE IS A SCAM. My BF only spent 30mins a day in a truck, which they know is NO WHERE NEAR the time needed to pass the driving test. They overbook the trucks and don't have enough trucks for people in the class to drive, you're just standing around for 90% of your time there. There's no one there to teach you, you're figuring everything out on your own. The owner of the company is who tests you, so clearly if he fails you you're likely to spend more money to get more time behind the truck to try to pass again. The simulator is always overbooked or there's no one staffed to help you get on. It's a complete waste of money. So expect to spend over $4K to have unlimited tries to pass the driving test if you go with this company. read more

PAST STUDENT HERE: whatever you do! do not! go to DRIVING ACADEMY linden NJ . the fees alone will kill you. they'll make you wait 1-2 months for a test date and if you miss it or forget a document they charge upto $500, if you want your test date quicker than 1-2 months you have to pay like 200-250 even if you purchase the unlimited course which is 5200 already and after all that there's is still the possibility that you mite show up for your test on the date and the send you back home cause they're overbooked, myself and several others are currently looking into suing this company for those reasons and more. so please save your MONEY save your PEACE OF MIND and safe yourself a whole lot of Stress and stay away from this place read more

Terrible school, don't do it, you will waste your time and money. It will take you about 2 month to get a 36 hour training and then wait 4 to 6 weeks to take the road test. Your permit may get expired by the time you finish. read more

Dont waste ur time and money at this school. This school is designed to fail you so that u can keep paying more money when u run out of hours of training. The road test is like 2 hrs away from the school in PA. They failed me because they gave me a defective truck that had problem in the air brake system. The examiners are rude and very unprofessional. My other friend failed because he didn't turn the key the way they wanted him to.The examiner Shawn yelled at him and told him to get out of the truck. We are very knowledgeable and know exactly what we are doing. Another student went all the way over there and the examiner said he didn't feel like it when he saw him... racially profiling him and sent him home after driving over there 2 hrs. Why didn't they just call him to reschedule instead of waisting his time. Jonathan and his staffs are crooked and stealing ur money and getting away with it! They only have 3 trucks at the training yard and most of the time only 2 working and are broken down. You only get a chance to practice ur parking for 30 mins and there's times that they send u home because they're over booked. The whole time ur just standing around and u can't really study the pre trip inspection because there's like 20 other students on 1 broken down truck and the instructors are just there talking and don't really care if ur learning or not. To be honest I want money back !!!!! Not recommended and my advice find another school !!!!! read more

Simple they will not teach you anything if you don't take their most expensive package which is 4.1k I pay 3k to learn and the instructor do not give a rat if you learn or to teach you, they just want your time to end so you can leave. the next day is the same thing, Until all your time for practice is depleted. If you dare to complain management will only tell you sign a contract. Also I have to mention the I have to pay additional money to another school for then to teach me how to do parallel parking in semi. The Blond Colombian instructor was nasty as hell. Do not give your hard earned money thief's. read more

I joint this school in November 2022 the instructors are good people that want each and every one have there CDL, the examiner, these guys do there job to the best of there ability, i fail three times every time i fail the support was all way there , thank you guys, coming from the Bronx i did it on November 13 2023 i pass thank you guys read more

DO NOT GO HERE! THIS PLACE WILL SET YOU UP TO FAIL! they do not have enough instructors to be able to teach all the student. the instructors are new and don't even have the correct answers to our questions! save your money! they will sell your a dream and you can't even get refunded! Spent $2,800 for nothing read more

Not a good place plz do not put ur money in this school my husband paid for this school they say ever one get a truc but in reality u can only drive like 25 min a day in ur 5 hr class the rest of the time you will just be wondering around they will not provide you a truck as they say they do they will never put you on the computer to do the test and they over book people every time and their is more people in the lot and you have to wait turn and every one is rushing every one and some of their truck is missing part one truc the other day only had one rear wheel and another one was missing ******never give your money to this school******** read more

This school is bad it has limited trucks Only 2 automatic and 1 manual Most of the time they send you to practice by your self They put around 10 student to practice for 1 truck And if you lucky you can practice for parking half hour per day and they counting 4 hours on you each visit Most of there there trucks is very bad old and need Mentinance I reqest the truck to do my test and they didn't respond and they refused to give me the truck I paid 4500$ and i fail because they give me defective truck has problem in air brake system Its bad school I went to another school at and i pass from first time Now i am sue them to get my money back Not recommended and my advice find another school read more

Horrible school waste of time and money owner father and son are racist they play alot of games over priced the one manual truck is shorter then then the automatics the time is limited read more

Learn from others mistakes and experiences and look for some other school, even if you end up paying two or three hundred dollars more. It is worthy! I dropped off the school when I already had paid half of the tuition and had completed my first 40 hours of training. Why? You will find out if you decide to enroll there. This business is designed to defraud you. read more

The "classroom" training consists of sitting in front of an ipad watching videos while wearing headphones and reading from a book provided by the DMV that anyone can get for free. After 40 hours of that inwas supposed to take my written test, get my Permit and begin road training. But of course it wasnt until after my 40 hours was completed that they told me the DMV was not open for testing. So I had to put my training on hold while I waited for the school to call me to inform me we were good to continue. 2 weeks went by. Heard nothing. Then another 2 weeks. Still heard nothing. Now I'm over four weeks behind the agreed-upon training schedule and I find out that the DMV opened at the beginning of August and that they simply forgot to call me to continue my training. There is nothing professional about this driving school and the owner Jonathan acted like a total sketchy sleazy snake oil salesman/politician when I spoke to him on the phone. He spoke in circles as vaguely as humanly possible so that he could avoid agreeing with me, taking some responsibility and issuing me my deserved refund. I now have to leave all these bad reviews all over the Internet, call the BBB and contest the charges through Amex. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL! read more

Driving Academy - Jonathon the owner/conman - Driving Schools Near Me - Linden, New Jersey

I just had a lesson and my driver wasn't much help; he became frustrated when I didn't understand how to do my turns the way he showed me keep in mind I've been practicing driving with family members for a year and have just learned this new way to do my turns so I won't be able to master a new way to turn in an hour. He also told me when to turn late causing me to almost always miss to the turn, he also seems to become impatient when I can't get something right on the first try. He also told me when I say go, go (referring to when we were at a stop sign to go when he says because their are no cars also keep in mind I was feeling nervous so I looked twice when it was clear causing us to have to wait longer) long story short I was about to go but he slams on his brake and lectures me on how I have to look both ways which I already knew but he confused me. Lastly he ended the session early, just to get the six hours almost cost 500 DOLLARS. read more

If I could give them a 0 rate I would. Please do not waste your time, money, or energy here. Read all the reviews this place has before giving them your money. This place is very disorganized, big student: teacher ratio and just a waste of energy. They will make you sign a contract in which you only have 3 days to cancel or you will not be refunded. Your classes will begin about a month after signing the contract, making you "illegible" for a refund. They will give you every excuse in the book not to give you a refund ! If you are already in this situation, you can take it to small claims court. Don't let them steal your money. read more

Besides having an amzing instructor he was limited due to the construct of the training , which many of the methods are unproductive and more confusing then helpful,for example instead of having the same person on pretrip they all rotate which is confusing while one has a different method and tells u to follow another has there own method instead of teachin all the same things and following the package from the begining and that goes for everything pretrip,cabin,parking and road driving.... It truly feels like they tell u once and then leave u alone.... I paid for the 28 hr class and paid 3200 and found out quickly that many people had better deals then me as far as prices and the instructors dont show an urgency to teach because most people paid for the 120 hr class , u will think that once they know you paid for the 28 or 36 or 20 hour package they will show more attention to you and teach more fluently and not bounce from one instructor with a different method then the other...i recently took my road test which i dont credit me passing my pre trip or cabin to the school but only my parking to the great instructor that they do have like ahkil,oscar and juan , and juan only works sat and sunday ... befor my road test i was giving a two day road past which will be the only time in all ur hours that u will be in a truck goin past 1st gear in the street , and it last 45 min each which with in that 1 hr in a half u are only really driving about 45 to an 1hr because the instructor is showing u his method.... Now if u think 1 hr of training u will be able for most people to understand and get the concept or normality you are mistaken so u see this school highlights the package of 120 hr unlimited times to past because if u never got on a truck and u paid ur money to learn double clutching and downshifting they bank on the fact u will get it even if u fail a bunch of times with the truck at TESTING SITE ... but now i ask what about a person that paid for the 28hr package u only get to take the road test 1 time and after it is 450$ i believe this school has great ideas but not implimenting it good and its more of a scame to get more money not for someome that truly wants to pass in one try if was given the proper training ... i traveled one in half and spend 50 dollars in tolls every class i took thinking this was gonna be the best school for me and if it wasnt for ahkil and juan there was no way i was gonna past with 28 hrs because it is not designed for u to pass with such little hours they push for the 120 hr package to put in there pockets ... believe me the you tube truly tricked me as well , my location was the linden nj yard... read more

you pay 4 hours but end up driving 25 min....instructors busy talking and having fun....fustra with waste of my money read more

Driving Academy - Waste of time - Driving Schools Near Me - Linden, New Jersey

Completely bogus each one of the poor reviews are accurate they should close this school immediately I have been in the program over 3 years and still haven't been taught anything I hadn't already knew prior to the driving Academy training. read more

I have recently attended Driving Academy in October of 2021. I unfortunately had to rate it 2/5. I was attracted to the company because of their Youtube presence, and because I was promised that I could complete the course that I selected within two weeks. They have several different options for learning and I opted for the 36 hours of training with two free examinations, as I already had my permit and didn't need assistance with that. The first thing that I will say is that nearly every time I spoke to someone on the phone they clearly had no practical knowledge of how the school worked so I ended up having to go to the school to get the information I needed and to sign up. (I also live in Rochester, NY so it's 5 1/2 hours away) The second thing that I think people need to know is that they teach to the test. So don't expect any information pertaining to the trucking industry. You will learn to do your in-cab/air-brake test & the pre-trip inspection (outside of the truck), the back up maneuvers (with the exception of the alley doc because the training "yard" isn't big enough...) and finally the road test. I'm going to put this in all caps so that you get the picture, IF YOU AREN'T HIGHLY MOTIVATED AND WILLING TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF YOU WILL FAIL AT THIS SCHOOL. No one and I mean no one will make sure you are moving forward and or learning anything. The first day you will spend two hours at the office watching videos. You will then be sent over to the "yard" where when you show up to the parking lot with the trucks in it, no one will approach you or ask you if you need anything. You will need to find someone with a vest on and tell them you are new and that you need to get on the clip board. This clip board is the back up driving time list. For every four hours of class you should expect to get two 30 minute time periods in the trucks (of which there are three, two autos and one manual). If you are a manual truck person like I was you will have to use the automatics from time to time to get in your practice because they only have one M truck. Of the instructors at the yard, maybe two will actually help you. There is one instructor whose full time job it is to smoke his e-cigarette and talk about how expensive trucks are these days, which is helpful. You must self-advocate and specifically ask the instructors, will you please help me with my straight-line back, my off-set and my parallel parking maneuvers. Don't waste time trying to figure it out yourself. But once you get a maneuver down, my advice is to start each driving time just like it's a test, so do each maneuver in order, over and over again. The way I broke up my 36 hours was four, eight hour days and one four hour day. By the end of the third day you need to have all three back up maneuvers down so you can focus on running through the three maneuvers over and over the last one and a half days. In between the 30 min times in the truck, you must work on your pre-trip and in-cab knowledge. Two things that I would recommend by the beginning of the first day. First memorize the flow of the pre-trip. Be able to say to yourself, front of the truck to the back, I will move from this to this to this part of the truck so that you will 100% not miss anything. Do this before trying to memorize the verbiage of the pre-trip. Second, write the entire pre-trip out in a narrative style so that you will have it in a form that is natural to you but includes all of the necessary words that they will expect you to say. For example, "The water pump is located behind the tractor frame. It is gear driven, working properly, free of damage and or leaks and is mounted securely." Once you have this "script" written out go over it with the truck every spare moment at the yard, and for hours at home when not there. The in-cab and air-brake test should also follow the same pattern, flow then script. The simulator is pretty much worthless. I was looking forward to using it but found that it was more frustrating than helpful and does not relate to your real life on the road experience. The throttle and brakes are very sensitive and jump all over the place. The shifting simulator at the main office which you will go through before you can do your road test is helpful, but expect to get a work out because you will be pushing in the clutch about 1000 times over an hour or so training video. This was helpful. As a person who has driven standard vehicles for my entire life, driving a standard truck is very different and will take practice to get down. On that topic, in this 36 hour program I received a total of about 40 minutes of on the road driving experience around the back roads of NJ, and no highway time prior to my test. This was broken up into two approximately 20 minute drives. This is my biggest complaint about the program. There is no reason I shouldn't have been out on the road every day from the second day on. This is not good. read more

This school Is a joke do not go! They don't give you the necessary tools to get on your way to Freedom! They have removed the gas pedal from the vehicles so you only idle, which idle is necessary for parking. . You will only get 3 days Actual on the road driving before your official state exam. You will move back and forth in the yard with no guidance because it's to many students to instructor. how can you do your brake check without a trailer Attached The simulator in the office does not work properly, but they put you on it to learn and never check on you. They tell you the parts of the vehicle for you to learn in a group setting. If you training on manual they just put you in the truck and expect you to just drive without training you(even if it's you first time in a manual). If you want manual they still have you driving automatic, because they only have one manual truck for so many student! In the yard You only train on an actual vehicle 30 minutes per class You may get another 30 min session if you lucky and the class is not crowded, which it's mostly always crowded. You will be Learning on your own self taught! I did 6 classses and gave up on this school Because no refund! I went to another school that really put me on to Freedom I got my CDL at Executive Driving school. I believe this is a scam or they just want money periodt!! tThey changed my test date to a month later than I was first told, so I would only have 1 try at the exam before my permit expired, when I was supposed to have two tries Which I paid for. My original exam was 4/13 it was change to 5/23, I expired on 5/27 go figure. I paid 2800$ for 9 classes but only used 6 due to their inability to train or teach me. They don't care you will notice this after they get your money. The girl on the office that takes your money don't even know their Passing Rate. Each instructor will tell you something different! That was my first Red flag I should have run! YouTube will teach you more than this school. it's all a group setting no matter were you are in your training. if you don't believe try it pay as you go so you don't lose money I bet you believe after the first class!! read more

Would give 0 stars if i could so basically save you money and run the other way when it comes to this driving school. They will sell you a dream to get you to sign up for the school especially if you have a military program. The moment you actually start you realize the shit show you are involved in. The office staff you would think do not communicate because each one knows different information every time you speak to someone different you will get different information. Do not expect one on one or even special attention in this school, it is basically a place were you need to teach yourself. Do not waste money on help getting permit you will only sit in front of an ipad learning by yourself and you can do this with free study guides online dont need to pay hours for that. When you finally get to the yard to drive its another shit show and do not expect individual attention. You will need to be after yard instructors just to get some help with maneuvers/pre-trip. You will go on road at the end of your package and instructor will be upset if you dont know how to drive even tho thats the point of being a student, you dont know and are there to learn. When you finally make it to the road test after weeks of wasting your money the school owner Jonathan will be your road instructor and let me warn you he will have the attitude that his school is super professional but he is very non chalant about wasting your time and money. Run the other way, even if you finally get your CDL with these people, the stress they will have you experience is not worth it. The entire time i was there i constantly heard students complaining and full of regret that they signed up so i knew i was not the only one dealing with unprofessionalism in the way the school is conducting business. I just wanted to get the course done and over with so i never ever have to deal with them. read more