Northwest Driving School Inc

Graham Myhre

I signed up my twins last year to get a student discount but they did not honor that. In addition, we tried countless times to get ahold of them via phone and email and no response. And if that was not all, here a year later they are emailing my kids saying that we owe $350 each. Thankfully I have all my receipts that show we have no outstanding balances. Not only is this appalling but unethical to try to come back a year later to squeeze out money that doesn’t even belong to them. I Do Not Recommend them at all!!

Ivy Green

Poor Communication and business practices. We had to withdraw from a class unexpectedly in July 2019 and called to confirm that our daughter could enroll in the next session. I was told that it was no problem, we have paid all fees. When I called to confirm times/dates for next session I was told that, though I’m fully paid, I failed to respond to an e-mail confirming enrollment and my daughter must be added to a waitlist. It’s January now, my daughter is 16-we show up for the January 2020 class and are told there is no room. She may come back in February and is still waitlisted. Classes for summer 2020 haven’t been announced yet, so can’t preemptively secure a spot for her there either, just in case we miss a third session. I cannot find any record of an e-mail, letter, phone call from NWDS informing me of any changes or further requirements to secure a spot in a future session after cancellation. This company has $500 mine since July 2019 and I will be lucky if my daughter is driving before she’s 17, December of 2020. There are no alternative options within 150 miles of where I live. It’s either NWDS or wait until she’s 18. Cool

Adam Foster

Though I doubt you will find a more thorough and comprehensive driving school for teens, I was quite disappointed by one aspect of this school's curriculum. While I understand that the driver's education for kids' prime directive is to teach kids how to safely and legally navigate traffic and pass the DOL driving test, they lack in teaching kids how to handle the vehicle in every driving condition. What I am referring to, particularly, is that they do not in any way teach their students how to use side view mirrors to back the car up in reverse. While this skill may not apply to most conditions, my children (both of whom have just completed the course) are 100% completely unprepared to back a car up if they can not see through the back window. This condition exists when you have a station wagon with cargo in the back, a pickup truck with a load that obstructs the view, a panel van with no rear windows, a U-haul or other moving truck, the list goes on ad-infinitum. This issue became apparent when my now graduated and licensed daughter had difficulty backing up over a long distance in a straight line. I believe it is not reasonable to expect anyone to be able to perform such a maneuver without using the side view mirrors to be certain the car is aligned parallel to the driveway/alley etc. It baffles me how such a comprehensive school (requiring the kids to change spare tires, simulated tire blowouts, simulated hood popping open while driving etc. etc.) could miss such a crucial skill. To be fair, this school has a reputation among kids to be the toughest and most comprehensive school in the area, which I absolutely appreciate. I just wish it didn't require (after all that expense) supplemental education on my part in order for my teens to be able to simply back up a vehicle whose rear window is obstructed.

Riker H

Pros: Offers comprehensive drivers ed course, knowledge test, and skills test. Cons: Office does not pick up calls or return calls. Over a period of 5 hours I would call their office hoping to schedule an appointment, no one answered the calls and when I finally left a voice mail my call was never returned. I was only able to take my knowledge test because it is scheduled on a regular weekly basis. I scheduled my skills test in person, after taking the knowledge test.