I don't know how this place has good reviews. All the teachers were jerks . My son had one that…read morecould barely walk and was a mean old man. Thank god this is over!! I don't get how you can be mean to nervous kids .

My son took his road test this past Saturday. He was anxious but excited. He tested with Kris. Kris…read morewas patient and encouraging but firm while giving instruction. I brought my youngest son here because my oldest son did his road test here years ago with Lou. Both were great experiences and I would recommend Capitol Area to others.

The instructor explicitly informed me to speed up to X during the test. Following the law, I…read moreaccelerated to the speed appropriate for the high way. The instructor then proceeded--despite the instruction to accelerate--to tell me to slow down. The instructor herself is very misleading, and not in the moment. She was emotionally devoid to a point of social sequestration. Furthermore, she also was quite irresponsible. She doesn't care about the wellbeing of her customers, and even went on to disrespect both me and my mother by managing problems with her other customers during our paid time. Where more irresponsibility took manifestation on her behalf was when she was very obscure about where to meet. When asking questions--because inevitably every customer would have to--she would indirectly refuse to answer. Ultimately, the customer is left in a state of obscurity just as the instructor.

This school is really nice and ran pretty well, I had a really good experience with my instructor…read moreMax, he made learning and driving really easy as my whole class had passed the test. Driving on the roads after he taught me was very smooth and easy for me and he even made it fun dropping my nerves, would 100% recommend every one too go here.

My goat Toman (or Tuman, I can't really spell his name) was super chill and an easy instructor to…read moredrive with. He was super patient and helped me keep track of and fix my issues.

While preparing for my son to be ready to drive, Everyone said go to Life Academy. Even on my…read morehometown Facebook it was Life Academy. So now that he goes I guess I'm really confused how there is 5 stars for this driving academy. 1st on parents night the fella ripped on the parents the whole time. Not knowing us he pretty much told the kids not to listen to us parents when it comes to driving because it's been so long since we've been in drivers Ed..: then he turns and tells the kids respect your parents driving as they are the ones that have kept you in one piece . One dad was turning red in the face . Then the guy mentioned how there are a bunch of cameras in the cars and kids bad attitudes won't be accepted and they will have video... ok what about your driving instructors bad attitudes? Lord! The instructor my son had the first 2 days was new, unprepared, confusing, late and boring. I did ask for a new teacher as the reviews reflected that this school was different than others and a little more fun...a new teacher was assigned....thank you. As for the driving teachers you have a couple dudes there that are complete old jerks and make the kids feel on egg shells. I reported Dennis as my son was like OMG that guys the biggest jerk. One driver teacher boasted about making good money and working OT doing this, but he was an ass and gave a kid a panic attack. I made sure my son didn't have either of these men again. Kids are nervous enough and these guys just yelled. Why do they do this for a living is it just about money? So before you threaten the kids about being good in the car look at these teachers and how they are. I'm still puzzled on how this is a top driving school. Oh well. He's not going back .

Advanced Driving Academy is a great program with structure. My daughter attended her segment 1…read moretraining with ADA while in high school at PCEP (Salem High School). The program's first and last day is held at their office with the remaining days being held at the high school. The class was right after school and saved us a trip to drop her off. Several of her drives were scheduled right after class making it really convenient only requiring us to pick her up at 6:30. The owner is a former police officer and the program feels like it. They are very professional and formal. The students are expected to follow rules from silencing their phones, paying attention, and attending every class & drive. The class is not structured as a fun time or catering to the students but to ensure the students learn how to drive, the responsibility and that driving has many rules that are there not only to be legal but for everyone's safety. Advanced Driving Academy has rules and expects the students and parents to follow but the rules are clearly stated and make sense. The staff is very friendly and available to help. Attendance is expected and missing a class has to be made up (state law of the number of hours and drives). Advanced Driving Academy is a great company and does a wonderful job training young adults to become responsible drivers.

Here's the deal with ADA. They are the best around if you want your child to learn how to drive…read moresafely and be a responsible driver. We have sent all four of our children through ADA and all are good drivers with an awareness of safety principles. They frequently point out tidbits of information about driving, traffic laws, or my own driving habits (OK, that's irritating, but they're not wrong) that they learned there. On day one of Segment 1, a parent must attend. The owner, a retired police officer and driving instructor of well over 20 years, is direct. Some may find his words unnerving. If so, mission accomplished! Keep in mind that driving is NOT a right; but a privilege afforded to you by the state. ADA is licensed and authorized to teach and they are regulated by the state. Some of his words are required, but some are meant to be sobering reminders that driving can be dangerous. If that offends the sensibilities of one or the other student or parent; perhaps you should go to a driving school where you can put on rose-colored glasses and hit the road with no concept of where your child needs to improve and be more safe. ADA will give statistics on accidents, dangerous intersections, distracted driving, and more which are presented in a way that one cannot misunderstand. For example,"The fastest way to see you child end up in a funeral home is letting them drive with a car full of friends." That may be crass and such directness may offend the occasional "snowflake," but we appreciated the directness and the factual basis of such comments. This factoid is fact-based and ADA can explain it from stats as well as professional law enforcement experiences of tragedies. We have always found the staff at ADA to be kind and patient. Our kids have always liked the experience but they are initially a little intimidated by the day 1 presentation. "GOOD!" They should be. In reading some negative reviews here, I would only say that parents often refuse to accept that their little angel really isn't a very good driver for whatever reason. Maybe the kid is just a bad driver Mom and Dad. Why do you blame the school? Please! My kids paid attention, followed directions, focused on being responsive to instructions, and they did well. Did they ace their road test? No. But they are good and responsible drivers and we credit much of that to ADA. Send your kids to ADA. You won't be disappointed (unless your skin is too thin for direct and clear facts).

I took this class this year and I was dissatisfied with the experience. The teacher was VERY…read moredisrespectful and rude. There was definitely favoritism within the class and also racism among middle eastern students and muslims students within the class. In class the teacher Ms Vee called a middle eastern student from Afghanistan an illegal refugee. She said we should bomb Afghanistan and bring uzis to kill every man there. When driving with her she would constantly bring up irrelevant topics, such as chem trails being the cause of covid, and Prince being killed by the government. She had us listen to a podcast about it for the first ten minutes of driving. She had an obsession with my father and would constantly bring up the idea of him driving with him and me drive to my house to come and see him. She was so rude so to another student calling him and his mother dumb and saying the reason the child couldn't drive was because his parents weren't together. She would pick on him about his hair and was bring it up during class time. When driving with her I was utterly afraid everything I did was wrong and she wouldn't constantly make me feel terrible about myself. One drive with her I couldn't stop crying and shaking even though we were on a side street. I became afraid of her because of how much she put me down and made feel as though I would never ever drive. While crying she told me to stop feeling sorry for myself and would constantly pick on me during class because I wasn't "preppy" anymore. If you are trying to learn how to drive do not go here. The cheap price may attract you but you would learn everything expect for driving. This experience has made me fear driving because of her.

Ms. V yells at her student when they are driving! She also will take over the wheel when the…read morestudents are not doing what she tells them to do and then she will have them just do the gas as she controls the wheel. Ms. V also puts her students down and talks bad about them behind their back and right to their face. Ms. V was always putting my child down when they went driving. Also, she will cut their drive time if she doesn't like their driving and tell them to put minutes down that they didn't get to drive for. She has the students drive what seems to be her own personal vehicle and she is the only instructor. During the class portion she expects the students to take notes but doesn't give them enough time to write. Overall this driving school is a waste of money, look for a better place!

Great instructor and a family business of husband and wife. Prices are reasonable and you can test…read morein his car if your car in too big!

The road test was very scary for my daughter and I honestly didn't know what to expect either but…read morethis company was great. She had the woman for the test and she was so calm and explained everything to my daughter. She was very patient and professional. I definitely recommend this company for the road test. The price was reasonable as well. My daughter passed and had a great experience.

Excellent instructor and easy online format. Works well to not have to drive kid to classes and kid…read morelikes the virtual aspect as well.

This place is fraud. They took our money, then told us they don't have the proper equipment to…read moreevaluate. My wife went in for a driving evaluation for her disability license. According to the instructor, she passed the clinical exam with ease, but they refused to continue with her exam after learning the controls in her van were different than the ones in their vehicle. This should have been the first question asked when she called to schedule the appointment. The instructor does not have the common sense or experience to make proper decisions and this facility is not at all equipped to train or evaluate anyone with a disability. they should disclose their lack of knowledge, ability and reasoning BEFORE taking anyones money.

Great experience for both my daughter with a disability and her triplet sister and brother…read more Wonderful training, confident behind the wheel and I am not afraid. Mr Madonna as an instructor is outstanding- he ensures these kids get it!!! So pleased with our experience.

We purchased the Course Plus 10 option. My daughter took Segment One at the Novi location and the…read moreclasses were taught well for the most part while trying to make it interesting and fun for the students. The time spent behind-the-wheel as well as the closed course sessions were definitely very good with patient and good teachers and driving instructors. They taught her the rules of driving well. However, trying to schedule the Plus 10 hours portion of her contract has been tedious and quite unpleasant. The person who schedules these sessions at the Novi location has been offering times during the week when my sophomore is in school and it's difficult to find any availability immediately after school. At one point, I was even told to not call them and that they would contact me with availability as and when slots opened up. That's not what I would expect of a driving school that needs to have a better system in place for these private drives, especially when they're already paid for. Moreover, the majority of their clients are high schoolers who they clearly know can't book driving sessions during school hours. I truly hope they can modify their scheduling and get a system that's more conducive to helping high schoolers book their private lessons more easily.

My son has been attending this class for about 2 weeks now, and we are greatly disappointed. On…read morewhat planet is okay to make a 15 year old study driving for 4 HOURS, uninterrupted? 2 hours of lessons, followed by 2 hours of driving, on the same day? And this is directly after a 6 hour school day. I have to say, I'm disappointed. Learning to drive should NOT be this exhausting. 1 star; wouldn't even recommend this cruel dump to my sister in law.