We had a positive experience with Local driving school. My son's instructor Kirt was great! He was on time for the lesson each time we booked and gave great positive feedback on things he should work on before the next lesson. We decided to book the extra lesson for the DMV test. Kirt showed up on time and my son said he was able to get a great practice run in right before the test and he passed the first time. Highly recommend Kirt and Local driving school. read more

Huge thanks to my instructor Kirt. He is nice and patient and willing to take me to Vallejo DMV to practice. I passed the road test with full points after 3 lessons. read more

Local Driving School - Pinole - My instructor and I at the DMV - Driving Schools Near Me - Pinole, California

My son just got a license today. Mr Kirt is a good teacher. We got a very good experience . Thanks the local driving school and thanks so much Mr Kirt read more

Local Driving School - Pinole - Driving Schools Near Me - Pinole, California

My 16 year old got her permit in January and immediately requested to take her behind the wheel training with this company. A few of her schoolmates also completed their driving lessons and highly recommended Local Driving School in Pinole. Kirt was her instructor and she had nothing but a positive experience learning from him. He is very caring, patient and knowledgeable. Kirt provided timely feedback and pointers on my teen's evaluation forms. I like the acronyms he uses like SMOG and SIPDE to help remember good driving habits. If you're looking for a quality driving school in West Contra Costa County, I highly recommend this company and Kirt especially. read more

My 16 year old daughter passed her driving test on Friday after taking lessons with Kirt earlier this year. A few of her friends recommended Local Driving School and it was money well spent. He communicated effectively with clear instructions. My daughter felt comfortable during her lessons and confident about driving. I would definitely recommend Local Driving School and Kirt! read more

Our experience with Kirt was the best! He was a great driving instructor and helped my son form the good driving habits to be a good driver and to pass his driving test. Kirt was super nice and was very clear with instructions. We purchased the Gold tier and it really worked out for us. He went with our son an hour early to the driving test and they drove around the neighborhood near the DMV to go over some of the common driving exam areas. Our son passed with only two minor errors and Kirt walked him through the entire process at the DMV. It was easy and very convenient! read more

My daughter just completed their program and we have nothing but great things to say about her instructors! Sean and Kirt were very patient and knowledgeable driving instructors. They gave great tips and taught her how to drive safely and defensively. Scheduling time was fairly easy using their online tool as well. Thanks to them she was able to pass her drivers test so I highly recommend them! read more

Bought the $700 package, which includes the road test for my teen. On the road test day, the instructor only practiced driving the testing route once with my teen, which is less than 30 minutes, (note that the package is included 2 hrs practicing + 1 hr testing.) you guys didn't do what is advertised. Do your job better and don't play shortcuts. read more

My daughter took driving lessons and the instructors were amazing. They gave her clean instructions and helpful advice. She passed the tests easily even though she was not feeling that well that day. Thank you Kurt ! read more

Had one lesson with this driving school and only one other previous lesson from a different driving school instructor and I honestly learned so much from just one lesson with Kirt! I had already been driving for the past 2 months practicing before my behind the wheel exam and needed an extra push and some simplicity in understanding the rules on the road and Kirt explained everything perfectly! Everything really stuck once I took & passed my exam, and as someone who has anxiety on the road, he was able to teach me things that really calmed my nerves and helped me understand thoroughly! I definitely recommend this driving school and how patient and kind everyone is even when I booked my lesson! 10/10 recommend! read more

I started taking lessons in August with Kirt. He is the best instructor I've ever had. As someone who was very nervous to drive, he helped me grow my confidence over eight lessons until I passed in October. He was extremely nice and gives you very clear instructions on during your lessons. Don't be afraid to ask questions! Highly recommend him for any new drivers out there. I promise it'll be very worth your time :) Thanks Kirt!! read more

My daughter Just passed the driving test with Kirt Ewing with only 2 minor errors! He is a friendly and chill guy. Made sure she practiced SMOG with everything and took great use of my rearview mirror. Taught and prepared her with everything she needed for the driver's test. Highly recommend! read more

Local Driving School - Pinole - Driving Schools Near Me - Pinole, California

Just finished my third lesson with Kirt, he took me through the common driving exam areas for my upcoming behind the wheel coming up. I feel very confident now after our lesson. read more

I booked 5 lessons with Kirt back in August. He helped me learn how to be a safe, defensive driver on the road--and also helped me learn how to master whatever would show up on the test (I passed it with only one error @ El Cerrito)! I recommend booking Kirt for all future lessons. read more

Kirk Ewing Highly recommend. Will teach you everything you need to be a amazing driver and pass on your first attempt. Listen to him and practice SMOG. The website is very modernize, you can make appointments, see notes on your test. Very introvert friendly Best wishes Shawn Sampson read more

My son learned everything he needed to know to pass his driving test, thank you Kirt! Very friendly, on time and good communication about appointments. Informed me about what we needed for the day of my son's test. Highly recommend this company and request Kirt for your instructor p read more

I had a great experience learning with Kirt, I highly recommend scheduling with him. He is very professional, gives great feedback, patient and kind. He definitely prepared me the skills I needed to pass my driving test. Thank you Kirt! read more

I wish there were no stars because that is what they should get. I reached out to them and they returned my inquiry. When I followed up about speaking about what the services they offered I received nothing back from them. If their follow up is this poor when it comes to a potential client I sure can't trust their instruction concerning my child. I see their car parked at the corner of PVR/Simas don't take down their number and tell all of your friends and family not to do business with them. They are not professional at all! read more

Just passed my driver's test on the first try! I had 5 driving classes with Kirt Ewing and he was very calm and patient. We talked a bunch and it felt like a personal experience. We even took the freeway a couple of times and it went really well! He took me on many different routes. Along with this I learned how to park and back up extremely well. If you have the chance take Kirt as your instructor. read more

Local Driving School - Pinole - Our view from Arlington Boulevard! - Driving Schools Near Me - Pinole, California

We are very happy with this school and instructor Kirt. They show up on time and provide a summary after of what was practiced and how the driving student did. read more

I paid for the full package! It was a bit pricy however, this was the best decision for teaching my son Gabe to drive safely and proficiently! He had a wonderful experience with all of the instructors and made a special connection with Ulrich. He was always calm patient and use a little bit of humor to get Gabe through this nerve-racking process of learning to drive. They were always on time and kept in great communication before and after driving lessons to let me know what I needed to work on with him in between lessons. When it came time for the driver's test he picked Gabes up right on time gave him some last minute pointers and he passed his driving test on the first try. I could not be happier with this driving school you will be too! One little caveat, make sure you call 48 hours ahead of time if you have an emergency and have to cancel and be sure to call office directly do not do it online otherwise you'll get $100 charge for the cancellation instead of the $50 charge. It only happened once but I would have loved have had this heads up. read more

Local Driving School - Pinole - The proctor's note says it all! - Driving Schools Near Me - Pinole, California

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After reading all the wonderful reviews about Kirt, I had no doubt that I wanted him to be my instructor. I took several lessons with Kirt and he's by far the best instructor I've ever had. Kirt is kind, patient, caring and passionate about teaching new drivers to drive safely. Kirt is highly skilled and knowledgeable about California's roads. Kirt has a very calming presence and immediately made me feel at ease. He points out important details to pay attention to while driving, such as speed limit signs, stop signs, dips, bumps, potholes, etc. and emphasized the importance of scanning ahead and staying aware of your surroundings. Kirt's expertise, guidance and encouragement has given me the confidence I need to drive safely. I will definitely be sending my kids to Kirt as I want them to learn from the best. I would highly recommend Kirt to all the new drivers out there, you won't be disappointed. read more

After Local Driving School sent multiple text and email confirmations about my scheduled driving lesson today, I learned that my instructor hasn't worked with Local Driving School in a month. Local Driving School didn't notify me about this change or had the courtesy of replacing the instructor. My fiancé drove me up from San Jose so I could do the lesson and we waited for over an hour. Had I not contacted the instructor, I wouldn't have known about this and I would still be waiting for someone to show up. This is extremely unprofessional for any business to do. I want a refund for the lesson and a partial refund for the Gold package that I purchased. I don't feel comfortable taking my driving test with a company who can't even be bothered to give me a phone call about a change to my driving lesson whatsoever. Do better if you want customers to stay. read more

Lizbeth is a great instructor She has professional techniques and a great personality makes you very comfortable and confident behind the wheel and actually teaches you. I had one class with Jyoti Sondhi and it was horrible, I regretted it the first 10 minutes, so don't waste your time or money with her. Pick Liz read more

I'm so happy with this school! They taught my child to drive and we were able to choose our instructors the entire time. Everything is self schedule and their online calendar for scheduling makes everything so convenient. They come and pick up the student from home and return them after each session. For the final road test (we got the top level of instruction) they even scheduled the final DMV driving test, took my child to the DMV and to school after their driving test. I have zero complaints about Local Driving School! read more

This was so disappointing. I do not recommend this driving school. It didn't prepare me at all for the knowledge test and I ended up failing my test :( they didn't give a study guide or practice questions or anything. DO NOT RECOMMEND! They never answered my emails or calls. read more

Sean Sooriya was extremely helpful, cooperative and very clear and concise in his communication. He is amazing for guidance and advice for driving lessons. I have my highest recommendation. Thanks Sean! read more

My husband and I were looking for a good driving school for our 15 year old daughter. We went to Yelp and found Local Driving school. We read all the reviews and Kirt's name had the most positive reviews. So, we decided to enroll our daughter and chose Kirt as her driving instructor. As expected, my daughter was very nervous on her first day of driving lesson, yet Kirt's positive demeanor, patience, and knowledge made our daughter feel safe and comfortable while being on the road. Fast forward, today was my daughter's second driving lesson, and she drove all around Hercules, Pinole, and El Sobrante. Through her second lesson of driving, she was able to drive confidently and even drove on the freeway twice today thanks to Kirt's trust on my daughter which gave her much confidence on the road; she told us that it was the highlight of her day. This was all possible due to Kirt's style of teaching. To recap the last 2 lessons, my daughter had learned so much from Kirt. She was able to learn the basics such as knowing the car controls, making turns, changing lanes, U-turns, parking, and merging on a freeway. My husband and I are glad to have picked Kirt as my daughter's driving instructor. We would highly recommend Kirt to family and friends. read more

Local Driving School took all of the stress away in getting my 17 yr old teen ready to drive before college. I'm a single parent with little time , so my daughter had only been behind the wheel twice before and we had only one month to get her ready for the drive test before her permit expired and she travels off to college. LDS saved the day! The customer service rep was extremely knowledgeable of the DMV process and booked our DMV appointment directly along with my daughter's driving lessons with time to spare in case we needed to pay for even more lessons. We chose the 9 hr package which included training on the day of the DMV appointment. Their prices were reasonable and their appointment options fit the needs of our family perfectly. We selected Iris to train my daughter and the customer service rep made sure we had someone she'd be comfortable with as I mentioned my daughter was kind of shy. Iris was on time to every appointment and sent text messages when she was on her way. She gave excellent status reports to me as a parent which helped me understand what she needed to work on so that we could get more practice in between lessons. Iris was extremely patient and made my daughter feel very comfortable behind the wheel. On the day of our DMV appointment Iris met us near the DMV for one last lesson. Then she walked my daughter in and with no wait time we went straight to the appointment window for the drive test. Because they set up the appointment for you there is no wait!! Yay! Iris sat by and helped keep me calm while my daughter was on her drive test. I'm thrilled to report that my daughter went from not even remembering where the brake was 3 weeks ago, to passing her DMV Drive test on the first try after just 8 hrs of lessons with Iris at her side the entire time (only 5 errors out of 15 which is very good!). I highly recommend this drive school for your teens. They kept my baby safe and helped her achieve a huge milestone in a short amount of time. Iris and Local Driving School rocks! (Manny you're awesome too. You told me not to worry when I freaked out the day before the DMV appointment wondering if we'd be in lines for hours and you were right! We spent just 45 minutes at DMV. Great customer service!). read more

Local Driving School - Pinole - Driving Schools Near Me - Pinole, California

Decided on doing the 6HR BTW with Kirt, and like many, can attest to his amazing skills and demeanor behind the wheel and in the passenger seat. He is extremely encouraging and made space for improvement and clarity all throughout the learning process. He even got me to drive on the freeway -- YES THE FREEWAY! Something I thought I'd get to within more lessons, but was made so easy with his guidance. The mock exam was so helpful, and got me to a place where I definitely can schedule my test with confidence. Can't wait to fully be on the road now! read more

I've purchased their package of: three 2 hour each driving lesson along the DMV test with using their vehicle. IF your like me and don't have anyone in your personal life to help you drive on your own time, sign up with this driving school. In my personal opinion and if you aren't a fast pace learner like I am-- Three lessons aren't enough, I highly suggest you call and take extra classes, as many as you need before you take your DMV test. THE MORE PRACTICE THE BETTER. I've had ALMOST every driving instructor they have and ALL OF THEM HAVE BEEN GREAT, AMAZING PEOPLE and PROFESSIONAL. High light of things I remembered from each staff that made me grow as a safe driver. -Erika- Stay in your lane! helps me adjust my wheel* -Dan- Learned how to properly stop at a stop sign and practiced how to get the basics of steering the wheel and guided me on my first freeway ride. -Norberto- taught me how to drive in tight lanes, in El Sobrante neighborhood -Iris- Stay in your lane! glance at your mirror and see if your near the broken yellow lines. -Nicole who works in the office and took me to my DMV test on an emergency basis, Thank you for always helping me out when I make that call to your office every time I do a payment and driving appointments, you always take care of me in regards of those two things all the time and that I am very grateful. Your personality is great. To everyone who is thinking about driving school or putting their teen in driving school. PLEASE TAKE MY ADVISE and PURCHASE a few more lesson for you or your teen IF it takes you longer to get comfortable on wheel. Don't blame the driving instructor or company if you or your teen didn't pass that DMV test. Let's be real here, we all have different learning capabilities and if you need more lessons, do so and call Nicole and she will be happy to help you out. Don't be a dick to these instructors, they are helping YOU to gain a new skill in life and that's pretty freaking cool. P.S I passed my test and now I have my licence, Thanks to this company and their instructors. read more

I would highly recommend Local Driving school for your driving needs. I purchased the Test Preparation & DMV Exam, my instructor Sean Sooriya gave me an excellent pre-driving lecture and tips on how to drive defensively on any road conditions. I got my lifetime milestone achievement - Driver license. Super thank you and Kudos to the team! read more

Before my first lesson with Kirt i was a bit nervous & wary of driving but with Kirt's feedback, encouragement, and faith, i definitely gained a new found confidence. He also made sure to give me the handbook which definitely helped me prepare and review what i needed to work on for the test. He went out of his way to be the one to take me the day of & i couldn't be more thankful. Im so glad i got to work with such great instructors & i believe that with out their help i wouldn't be able to say that i have my LICENSE! read more

Local Driving School - Pinole - Driving Schools Near Me - Pinole, California

Paid $700 - gone down the drain. They will drive you around 3 times for a couple of hrs each and then be done. No ownership, no responsibility if person passes at dmv or not. The package included one and a half hour of prep before the driving exam at dmv. Trusted this school and it's people and sent my teenage for the test. They did not do the promised one and a half hour- they did not do even half an hour. That's unethical and they took advantage of a child who did not speak up. Find a better more trustworthy and Professional school who have instructors who will take responsibility and pain to ensure the learner passes the driving test or at least provide what's promised as per package and paid for with hard earned money. read more

This is my second lesson with Kirt. He is very friendly and nice. He has Good teaching skills, lane change, and other skills to pass driving test. It was comfortable and good lesson. read more

Local Driving School - Pinole - Driving Schools Near Me - Pinole, California

This has been one of the worst decisions I made. The lack of professionalism I have found while dealing with them is not acceptable. I bought the silver package (3 2-hour lessons and drivers test) For my firstesson the driver was 16 minutes late. For the second one he didn't show up for the third one he was eating fried chicken with his bare hands and covering the steering wheel with grease. He also was asking me to take all the turns until we reached a gas station in which he then asked me to stop for him to use the rest room. I had the same instructor for my test and while we were waiting in the car for the DMV personnel to begin my exam the instructor began flirting with me and saying things like he'd "love to see me in a uniform". All in all don't do this. You're better off asking a good driver to teach you or maybe another service. read more

I had 3 lessons with Kirt let me tell you he is the best instructor! I just took my drivers test and i passed i couldn't have done it without kirt thank you so much! He taught me everything i needed to know. read more

I've got a best experience with Kirt.I highly recommend him specially for new students (at age 30) like me.You can learn different techniques and all the things need to learn as a beginner.He tought me in freeway,residential business area.Please request for Kirt if you want to make an appointment in Local Driving School. read more

Local Driving School - Pinole - Driving Schools Near Me - Pinole, California

For anyone in the process of learning to drive, I highly recommend hiring Local Driving School. I purchased the platinum package and the silver package twice, as I was only driving with them with no help from family or friends. I am a 30 something year old adult and was a 100% newbie driver with no prior experience in my younger years. Throughout my learning experience I ended up working with Kirt, Mark, and Druh. I had a great experience with all three instructors. I started off working with Kirt. My first lesson I did pretty bad I must admit. I was on the road for maybe 10 minutes or so before it was determined I should start off practicing in a parking lot. Lol. I was feeling a little defeated after that first initial lesson. My confidence level was at a hard zero. Miraculously my second lesson was a complete turn around. I was on the road after a short period of practicing in another parking lot. I surprised myself at how much of a difference my skill level went up from lesson 1 to lesson 2 with Kirt. He was really good at continuously repeating specific instruction in certain scenarios while driving so it would really get ingrained in my brain. All of the repetition really helped me. Kirt was always respectful and understanding, never causing me to feel uncomfortable when i would make a mistake. Overall I had a total of 5 lessons with Kirt. Afterwards I started working with Mark b/c of timing and scheduling conflicts, I was not able to work with Kirt at the time. Mark was also great to work with, super friendly and encouraging. I had a total of 4 lessons with Mark. I feel like I was really able to perfect lane changes and different types of left turns working with him. Mark was really vocal in giving me useful tips and advice in driving and becoming a more confident driver. Next up, I had my last two lessons with Druh. I feel like I was able to gain better driving exposure working with Druh. She took me to different areas to drive in that were different from the areas Kirt and Mark took me. I feel like that really helped prepare me to watch out for the unexpected things in areas that I am unfamiliar with. For example there was an area that had a dip rather than an speed bump, and I honestly never came upon a dip in any of my other lessons. Now I try to be extra cautious of my surroundings to make sure I don't miss anything. That happen to be a good lesson for me. Also while working with Druh I feel like she did a wonderful job at having me practice the parking and backing up portion of the drivers test. I occasionally would mess that up and hit the curb. She really helped me get that down. Being that I was able to work with three different instructors and had a positive experience with each of them, I truly feel you can't go wrong with whoever you choose as your driving instructor. They are all A1 really! On another note Local driving school also has great customer service. I did have to call in and speak to someone a few times for different reasons. In most cases I spoke with Wa, she was always so nice, understanding, and accommodating. Wa was super sweet with every interaction, and didn't hesitate to help me in any way she could. Overall a great company to work with and I would gladly send anyone I know to get lessons through them if need be. Oh, and before I forget, yes I passed my drivers test! Best wishes to everyone else out there trying. read more

Today was my last/third lesson and I definitely have a lot to say about Local Driving School. I had 3 different instructors because I wanted to know which one was really the best. I had Matt for my first lesson, he was very helpful in talking to me about random stuff so that I was as anxious but at times it was somewhat distracting but honestly a really good instructor. He taught me the basics and some tips that I found very helpful. For my second lesson, I had Erica which honestly was the best instructor out of the three. She was extremely nice and supportive and allowed me to drive the whole time freely. She was very funny and did a great job calming my anxiety which was a bonus! I definitely recommend her!!! My last lesson today was with Kirt and if I'm going to be honest, I felt like I drove worse than I did my first lesson. I don't know if it was him or the car but something about today was not good. Driving the car itself was very different from when I was with Matt and Erica. He was very informative but at times I felt very discouraged when driving. He did review things that the other instructors didn't do but I would pick Erica for future lessons. (he also asked me to write a review for him and when I asked if I could just do it later he said no and waited until I finished my 5 STAR review, in which I did not post) Overall I wasn't disappointed with my experience at Local Driving School. It just really depends on who you get as your instructor!! read more