Our Reviews

I passed my test last week, and I just want to write and tell you how pleased I am that I chose the Bay Area Driving Academy to put me through my test. It’s been a challenge coming from Britain and learning to drive in the US. Different rules, different side of the road and car, different names for parts of the car, and completely different driving culture.

Erin is an amazing teacher. She is very patient, kind, methodical and consistent. She was very clear in her instructions and she made sure I understood what she was trying to convey.

Along with great teaching came a great personality. We got on so well and I looked forward to every lesson. As a newcomer to the bay area, it was really interesting for me to learn more of what it is like to live and drive here.

A small part of me hoped that I would fail my test as it would mean I could continue on my lessons every week! I will probably book a lesson or two in the future to help with freeway driving, but already having driven with Erin frequently on the freeways, and several times since my test, they haven’t been as scary as I had imagined and I may not need the extra lessons. We will see!

I also wanted to mention Amelia. I started off my driving journey with her. I found her to be very patient and sweet, and although just starting out on her driving instructor career, I found her to be very knowledgeable and authoritative when she needed to be. Unfortunately due to my hearing impairment and her soft voice, I found it impossible to make it work. I was having to ask her to repeat stuff then I’d miss my turn on the intersection. It wasn’t her fault, and it was nothing she did. She’s a good teacher, but my hearing let me down a lot. (Erin has a very loud voice, so no problems there!!)

I was impressed with how professional both Erin and Amelia are and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them at all.

I am also impressed with how the company is run as a whole. Any time I needed to contact the office, I always got a reply and my queries were dealt with very quickly and efficiently. Thank you for being so accommodating when I needed to switch things around.

Your website is also very user friendly. It’s easy to book and cancel lessons. The only suggestion I would make, would be to add a section on the home page for students to log in. If I wanted to log in to view my lessons, I have to pretend I was going to schedule a lesson before I could access the log in page. It was a wee bit time consuming and frustrating at times!

Thank you for everything! 2/11/2019

Hi there, Wanted to reach out with thanks to Erin and Tony who have in different ways helped me out on my driving journey over the last year. Tony was my first instructor and helped me to feel comfortable again behind the wheel after a strong history of phobia/anxiety around driving. I took a break to practice on my own, then took a pre-test class with Erin last week, where I was still feeling shaken up but felt way better after she really communicated the importance of both confidence and cautiousness, and when her banter during the drive helped me to relax before the test. This was the final mental tip I needed to make it over the edge and finally pass my driving test.

Thank you to both instructors! 1/23/2019

Amelia did a great job, making our daughter feel comfortable behind the wheel and increasing her competence and confidence to drive safely. The Academy worked with us to find a good time for the lesson – we will be back for more! 1/21/2019

Hello Bay Area Driving Academy, I want to say thank you for all the help booking my appointments and being very quick to respond to my emails.

Also would like to mention instructor Teresa and Erin for being amazing. I had one lesson with instructor Teresa and she was very kind, encouraging and informative. With instructor Erin I had two lessons, one of which was my driving test day assist. Instructor Erin was very helpful, patient and supportive. She helped make me less nervous with her humour and positive attitude on my test day. I am so glad to have chosen your academy and will definitely recommend to friends!

Thank you again! 1/18/2019

Super easy to schedule. My daughter said her instructors were excellent. All around great experience. (1/7/2019)