Frequently Asked Questions

Have a look at our Pricing page.

Have a look at our Pricing page.

Check out our Pricing page, and our How Many Lessons page to determine if you want to purchase your lessons as a package, and how many lessons you want. Then hop over to the Scheduling page and go set up your account on the scheduler.

You must consent to our Student Agreement when you register on our scheduler. Here it is!

We keep a tight schedule, so we must be strict about no-shows and late-cancels. Read our full Cancellation Policy.

We have lessons available every day of the week with start times varying between 8am and 8pm. If you have a tight schedule, we recommend scheduling at least 2 weeks in advance to ensure that you get the time that you want.

If you need a night lesson, give us a call. Our office hours are 9am-5pm Monday through Friday, but we are often out teaching and unable to answer the phone!

We come to you! We’ll typically pick up and drop off a student at their home. We can also pick up or drop off at school or work. We don’t have to pick up and drop off at the same place, but we DO need to know in advance if we’re doing anything other than our default of picking up and dropping off at your home address! If you have special requirements, please make note of them when you schedule your appointment.

We teach throughout most of Pinellas County. We’re currently limited to the area South of Alderman Rd.

We like mid-sized economy cars. Not too big, not too small, good seat adjustment, good visibility, automatic transmission, good fuel economy, and GREAT air conditioning! We currently use late model Kia and Hyundai cars. All of our cars are state certified with an instructor brake installed.

We prefer to teach in our cars both because we’re very familiar with them, and because they have the instructor brake, and we know we are properly insured. We CAN teach in a student’s vehicle, but we very rarely do it. If we do, it is normally AFTER the student has their full driver’s license. At that point, we’re riding along with the student less as a “state certified driving instructor” and more as a “personal driving coach” to help them find comfort driving their own car.

Depending on what area you live in, we may. But, rest assured that all of our instructors are state certified, and part of that process is fingerprinting and a state background check. And, we will only hire people who teach the way we want them to. That means “yelling” is not part of the curriculum! Students love us!

Probably not. But, don’t worry about it. All of our instructors are trained to teach with the same methods, and we keep notes in our online system so any instructor you get will know what you have and have not done and what you need to work on. If you really want or need the same instructor, you can schedule with only that instructor, but it could greatly limit the lesson times available to you. We recommend just taking the lessons that fit the time you have available, regardless of the instructor.

If you are under 18: You must have had your Florida Learner’s License for 12 months, have documented a minimum of 50 hours of supervised practice, and pass a vision and hearing test and a road test.
If you are 18 or older: Same as above, only you are not required to have your Learner’s License for 12 months.

The requirements are:
Must be 15 or older
Must prove identity
Must have taken a Traffic Law & Substance Abuse Education Course (can be taken online)
Must pass a Road Rules & Road Signs Exam (can be taken online if you are under 18)
Must pass a vision and hearing test
Must have parental consent if under 18

While you’re driving our car as a student, you are covered by our commercial driving school policy.

Driving any other vehicle, you really need to consult with your insurance agent before taking action on procuring a license. Some insurance companies do not consider a driver with a Learner’s Permit to be a “rated driver”. Most DO consider any fully licensed driver, or in some cases, even just a teenager of lawful driving age living in the household, to be a “rated driver”. The insurance rates for teen drivers can, unfortunately, be very high.

There are some insurance companies that still offer discounts for professional driver’s education. In some cases, the discounts can be significant enough to more than pay for the course! You’ll need to consult with your insurance agent to be sure. If a discount is offered, it usually requires a minimum of 6 hours of instruction.

This will vary greatly depending on the student and their history. Some students have experience with a variety of things (anything from driving other vehicles or bicycles to riding horses or playing sports, even boating) that can make it easier for them to learn the basics of driving. Others are “natural observers” who have been watching other people drive for many years, and will pick it up quickly. And some just have a natural affinity for driving. And others don’t. And that’s fine! But, we can’t tell you with any certainty how long it will take any particular student to learn to be a safe and confident driver. The amount and quality of practice that a student gets between their lessons is also a significant factor. We do have some general guidelines on our How Many Lessons page that may help.

The printed driver’s handbook has become a myth in our office, we can’t remember the last time we saw one! It’s available online, and it is one of the best things you can read! Seriously! It’s very well-written and very thorough. Even if you’ve been driving for years, you should give it a read to refresh yourself on a lot of little details that you may have forgotten… or that may have changed.

Florida Driver’s Handbook (English)
Florida Driver’s Handbook (Spanish)