Our Reviews

I met Carrie through Sunnyvale Driving School and was impressed with her professionalism, warm personality and excellent skills as a teacher. I have tried several other driving teachers at other schools for my older children and Carrie is by far the best driving teacher we’ve ever met. She’s so great, I’m glad to see that she’s now branching out and starting her own driving school, the Bay Area Driving Academy. We will stick with Carrie in her new venture – I know she’s the best teacher for my son. He’s enjoying his lessons too, and learning really quickly. Carrie covers what is required for him to know for his test but also goes beyond that and makes sure he also knows other important things, like how to parallel park (which is no longer part of the driving test). (11/16/2015)

What a great company! My daughter completed their behind-the-wheel training with Bay Area Driving Academy. She had lessons with both Teresa and Jenn, and both provided her with excellent instruction. She passed her driving test the first time shortly after her third lesson. They were both friendly and professional, and my daughter enjoyed her lessons with them. In addition to excellent instruction, I appreciated the ease of scheduling at Bay Area Driving Academy. They have a calendar posted online that you can use to schedule lessons. No calling, leaving messages, waiting for return phone calls. In addition, the staff at Bay Area is very friendly and accommodating. They helped me reschedule a lesson after my daughter injured herself and could not drive. So, a well-run company with an excellent product, excellent customer service, and excellent logistical support. I highly recommend them! 9/5/2016

Carrie is a wonderful teacher who is kind, professional, and passionate about what she is doing. My son has truly enjoyed working with her. Highly recommend her and will use again to teach my niece. 6/15/2016

I just moved to the Bay Area from Canada where I had zero driving experience. The thought of driving made me very nervous. Since you cannot rely on public transportation here in the South Bay, I decided it was time!

I have only had one lesson with Carrie so far but it was SUCH a great experience. After we introduced ourselves, she handed me the car keys and let me have at it! I’m not going to lie, I was terrified! Her assurance and general confidence made me feel so much better. Take note – they have their own separate brake and mirror so if anything goes awry, they have control! Carrie was very relaxed and cracked jokes knowing that I was nervous. It helped. She also answered every stupid question I had and I never felt ridiculous asking. I still feel nervous to drive but I truly believe that I will become a confident and smart driver.

There are so many other driving schools with terrible Yelp reviews which had me so worried! I’m so glad I found BADA – notice they have 5 stars? It’s for a reason.

UPDATE: I finished up my lessons with BADA in April and passed my test that same month with only 3 errors! I can absolutely say with confidence that these people know what they are doing! Let me also clarify that I didn’t have a car to practice on so I relied solely on my lessons with them in order to pass. I have been driving for almost a month (just recently bought a car) and I feel very confident in my ability to drive. I’m so grateful I had such a positive experience with a driving school! 2/15/2016

So you’re looking for a driving school/instructor, right? You’re doing exactly what I did when my daughters were learning to drive. After much research and reading many, many Yelp reviews, it became clear that Carrie, originally from Sunnyvale Driving School, is the best instructor, by far, in the Bay Area. And I can confidently confirm that. She is excellent! She knows her stuff; she’s confident, personable, friendly, professional…I can go on and on. My younger daughter is in the midst of her training now, and enjoys the 2 hour drives she spends with Carrie. And I’m learning a thing or two about my own driving since my daughter is now correcting me.

As I mentioned, Carrie was originally with Sunnyvale Driving School which is where I read so many fabulous reviews. She is now running her own company, Bay Area Driving Academy. Definitely give her a call. Your child will learn all they need for the test and will be an excellent driver as well. 11/19/2015