Pacific Driver Education

There seem to be some communication issues here. Yes, we didn't respond to your messages immediately, but that is because you sent them over the weekend when we were closed. When you explained that you were not available because of family members who had COVID we did, as we would with anyone who was prevented from attending an appointment for health reasons, offer to reschedule your lesson to a later date - no fee of any kind required. You declined this offer and instead asked for a refund which we issued the same day (yesterday, Tuesday December 17th 2024). I am looking at the refund receipt right now. It may take a few days for your bank to display the refund, but the money you say we stole has already been sent back to you. If you do not receive that, please contact your bank and then reach out to us [email protected] So, to be clear: We DID respond to you after we got back from our weekend, We DID offer to accommodate you on a different day once your family was feeling better, We DID refund your money. We did NOT steal your money, We do enjoy humor but did NOT laugh at you, We certainly did NOT run away - we don't really enjoy jogging, and we're still right here, conveniently located in Gresham and Beaverton.

Thanks for choosing Pacific Driver Education, Zen! We appreciate your support in Beaverton.

Vineet, thank you for the glowing review - Heidi is a great instructor and it's good to hear you two worked so well together. Out of curiosity, what would we have to have done differently to rate that fifth star?

Angela - thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts (and for all the work you did to prepare your son to be a knowledgeable and safe driver!). We look forward to seeing you again when your daughter is ready. :-)

Jennifer - thank you for taking the time to share such a thorough review of your experience. As always it's great to hear that our in-car staff were able to help your daughter feel confident and comfortable during her lessons and her test. I also appreciate your comments regarding the issues you had with scheduling and testing. I respect that you've made a decision about meeting your future training and testing needs, so please understand the comments below are mainly aimed at other parents who may find this review. First, yes - our rates are, for some things, a little higher than other private training schools in the market, and we do not have appointments available as late in the day. These are actually related. From the start, one of the goals at PDE was to provide the best possible training and customer service; that requires having the best possible staff. Intentionally, almost all our employees are full time, we do most of our work during “normal” 9-5 hours, and we pay our staff higher than market wages. Traditional driver training employs a lot of folks who do driver training outside the hours of their “real job”, and often that means new drivers do all their learning in the dark evening hours. While that can help with scheduling, we found, through experience, that it was not the best situation for the instructors or the students. We do offer lessons at both our Beaverton and Gresham locations. Lately demand and wait times have been higher for lessons in Beaverton, so I assume you chose to take lessons in Gresham rather than wait longer to start them in Beaverton. If you feel that somehow we forced you into Gresham when you wanted Beaverton, please reach out to me via [email protected] because I would very much want to hear about that. We do also offer lessons later than 3pm (though not much - our latest starting time is 4:15pm for the reasons listed above) but those slots are in demand and do fill up fast/far in advance. Yes - teens in Oregon do have to wait until their 16th birthday to test if they are not in a classroom-based ODOT approved course, and anyone who tests with a private business instead of directly with DMV has to wait until the day after their test to go to DMV to get their license. We do also offer those ODOT approved teen courses, and those are good fit for teens who like an in-person class experience and can accommodate the more structured scheduling requirements. You are correct that a student passing such a course does not need a separate driving test - they will still need to wait until their birthday to go to DMV for their license. Speaking as the parent of a teen driver, I do want to say congratulations on getting one child successfully trained and licensed, and I hope your experience with us, and maybe this additional information, will help you find an equally successful path for your next new driver!

Gracias por tu reseña Kenya! Nos da gusto que hayas tenido una buena experiencia en nuestra oficina. Debido al volumen de llamadas entrantes y a que nuestro personal administrativo suele estar ocupado atendiendo a los clientes en la oficina, es difícil comunicarse con nosotros por teléfono. Sabemos que las personas tienen preguntas y la mejor manera de comunicarse con nosotros es por correo electrónico o mensaje de texto. Gracias por escoger a Pacific Driver Education!

Thank you, Rhonda - we appreciate you taking the time to share your experience!

Julian, thank you for sharing your thoughts. All of our staff work hard to help our clients feel calm and confident, so it's always nice to hear that it's working!

Thank you Katie - we do try to not hurt anyone! ;-) I'm glad to hear it all worked smoothly for you - that's our goal!

Stacey, we are thrilled to hear about your positive experience with our examiner Steve Buckley. Congratulations on passing your test! Thank you for choosing Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton.

Thank you, Justin, for sharing your thoughts. Sounds like your son is well on his way to a lifetime of safe driving!

Octavia, we're delighted to hear about your positive experience with our education services at Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. Thank you for your kind words!

Nathan - thank you for taking time to share your experience. Our admin team works hard to build a schedule that keeps our in-car staff busy but still minimizes wait time for people who need to test. I'm glad we were able to get you in at a time that worked for you.

Hi Pam - thank you for sharing your experience. I'm glad you found it easy to schedule!

Thank you so much, Analyn, for the thorough review of your experience at PDE (and congratulations on passing your test!). All of our examiners work hard to provide our clients a kind and professional experience, so it's great to hear that is coming through. Drive safely!

Hi Karisa, Thank you for your positive feedback! We're delighted to hear about your experience with our examiners, Steve and Skip. Congratulations on passing your test! We appreciate your recommendation.

Thanks for the 5-star review, Blake! We appreciate your support for Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. We're glad you found our education services helpful and professional.

Hey Leron, we're thrilled to hear that Skip provided top-notch instruction at Pacific Driver Education. Thank you for choosing us in Beaverton!

Hi Katie, I am so happy we could help.

Thank you, xYz! We're thrilled to hear about your positive experience with Skip. Your recommendation means a lot to us! ✨Pacific Driver Education, Beaverton, education

Thank you for the recommendation, Jessica. We started PDE to do exactly that: help people through the process of learning to drive.

Jonathan - thank you for the compliment; we do try to be exactly that: a great place to take a drive test! It sure can be odd getting into a different car for the first time, but it sounds like you handled it like a pro. PDE chose to move to all Kia Souls for testing because they have great safety features, are easy to drive and maneuver and have very good visibility; since they are all pretty recent models (currently 2020-2023 models) some do have convenience features like keyless push start, backup cameras with alerts and such that can see odd if you're used to driving something older. The good news is, they pedals, steering wheel and turn signals all work just like you'd expect! :-)

Lucy we are so glad to hear you felt safe - there are many things we strive for at PDE, but safety is absolutely our first priority. Kindness and trying to help everyone feel comfortable are certainly high on the list as well - not only because that's just the right thing to do, but also because it helps everyone do their best driving, and that helps keep us all safe!

Hi Tiffany, thank you for sharing your positive experience at Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. We are glad to hear that your son had a great experience with our professional and supportive testers. We appreciate your recommendation!

Hi Kari, thank you for your 5-star rating and for sharing your son's positive experience with our instructors at Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. We're thrilled to hear that he found the instruction informative and enjoyable.

Thank you, Minal - we're all very glad to hear you appreciate the services we offer.

Quandary - everyone has first time nerves (people who have successfully tested in the past but need to retest for whatever reason do to!), but that's great advice - thank you for sharing it :)

Thank you, Meleseini! We're delighted to hear about your positive experience with Steven. We appreciate your recommendation of Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton.

Luis, thank you for your 5-star rating! We're thrilled to hear about your positive experience at Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. We appreciate your kind words and are here for any future needs.

Hi Bianca, thank you for your 5-star review! We're thrilled to hear about your positive experience at Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. We're delighted that our instructor was able to provide such a supportive and calming environment. We appreciate your recommendation!

Thank you for the 5-star review, Raj! We're thrilled to hear about your positive experience with our friendly instructors at Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. We appreciate your kind words!

Thank you for your 5-star review, Deb! We're thrilled to hear about your positive experience with our testing instructor. We appreciate your kind words and are glad we could make the process easy for you.

Tippy - it's good to hear you appreciated the reminders. We don't want to send so many that it becomes annoying, but we all have such busy lives these days I know they can be helpful.

Thank you Mauela. We do our best to make the whole process as clear and simple as we can - we really appreciate your recommendation.

Thank you Briana :-)

Grace - I'm glad we were able to help calm your nerves so you could show off your driving skills.

Fred, thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Thank you E.K.

Thomas - I'm glad to hear you had a good experience from start to finish. Thank you for taking time to post your thoughts.

Lana, I'm glad you found us - thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

Vikram you are very welcome. Thank you for choosing PDE and sharing your review and recommendation. Congratulations on your passing score!

Congratulations on passing your test, Juni. I'm sorry your first test experience was not so great, but I'm glad you stuck with it and tried again. Thank you for choosing Pacific Driver Education, and for sharing your review online.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Thank you, Jesus! We're delighted to hear about your positive experience with Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. Your feedback means a lot to us.

Gautham, we are thrilled to hear about your positive drive testing experience with us in Beaverton. Congratulations on passing! We appreciate your recommendation. Thank you for choosing Pacific Driver Education for your testing needs.

Tej - I appreciate the time that went into writing such a thorough review, and I'll do my best to address all the points. First, yes - DMV has reduced the number of available test appointments. This was something they started over ten years ago with a pilot program to test the feasibility of having road tests conducted by what they call "3rd Party" businesses. PDE was one of the very few schools invited to be part of that program, and we have been giving tests under careful DMV scrutiny ever since. The idea that you bring up, that it would be best for a testing business to unfairly fail people to sell more tests, is something I worry about often. I know we don't do that, all of our team works hard to convey to our customers that we don't do that, from a business standpoint I am certain that if we did do that we would run out of customers very soon - but I also know that no matter how hard we try to make this clear, some people will draw a different conclusion. Here are PDE we start every test with the best of hope that our applicant will pass - it's better for them, safer for us and I can assure you it is not at all enjoyable to tell someone they didn't pass their drive test. All the same, it is our job to identify behaviors that are not up to state standards and report them as such. We do our best at the end of EVERY test - pass or fail - to provide feedback that will be helpful to the applicant and make them a safer driver. I believe you and I spoke in our lobby after the second test you mention, but I will try to address again here the two issues you bring up. First, all the testing and scoring rules are set by DMV - our job is only to observe a driver's behavior and record it correctly as directed by DMV. As such, there are two ways a driver can "fail to meet state standards". One is to make enough relatively minor mistakes - typically things that are legal errors but do not, at the time they are made, constitute a direct hazard to any roadway user - that they fall below the state set threshold. The other way is to make a single error that DMV deems very serious. If such an error is made, the DMV directive is to end the test at that time and return as safely as possible to the start location; we are NOT supposed to continue with the test in these cases. For the first situation you mention, with the pedestrian, the responsibility of a driver when yielding to a pedestrian is to stop and wait, outside the intersection, for the pedestrian to clear the area. If this is a turn at a light, the pedestrian must be fully across the car's intended lane and then another six feet BEFORE the driver can BEGIN the turn. Rolling toward a pedestrian is both unsafe and illegal and would be, by DMV standards, grounds for failure. For the other test you mention there was a final score and there was a thorough explanation of where every point was deducted. As you only mention the speed, I will address that. DMV does not expect anyone to be perfect to pass their test, and as such they don't hold a standard of being exactly at the speed limit at all times. While the law is clear that we are never to go any amount OVER the speed limit, DMV scoring does allow a small margin above the limit in MOST cases. But, DMV also expects drivers to be able to demonstrate confident control of a vehicle at reasonable speeds for conditions, so if traffic allows they expect drivers to be close to the limit while allowing a similar margin below as above. If, however, a driver is consistently operating the vehicle well under the limit, such as 15 in a 25, or 25 in a 35, when there is no reason to do so, we are to mark those errors. While this would be a scored error it would not, alone, be enough to cause a driver to fail. I hope this information is helpful to you.

Thank you Keerati!

Ella, everyone is nervous taking their test and I'm really glad you felt supported and understood - that's fantastic to hear. Regardless of how long you put it off, you've got it done now!

Thank you Brandon!

Thank you, syed, for taking the time to share you thoughts - very nice to hear you had a good experience.

Thanks Dalett!

David - glad to hear you had a not so nervous experience - thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Karen, we really do care and are always very happy to hear that someone has seen that care in our work. Congratulations on passing your test!

Thank you Miguel for the recommendation and the advice! (For those who are looking to book an appoint, our policy is to work very hard to start every test on time, which is why we ask that clients check in at least 15 minutes prior to the their scheduled time. This gives time to check in, complete the small amount of required paperwork, read the test pamphlet - and maybe even relax a tiny bit before a test!)

Maryann, thank you for your 5-star review! We're thrilled to hear about your amazing experience at Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. We appreciate your kind words.

Sami, we are thrilled to hear about your positive experience with our instructor! Congratulations on passing your driving test. We appreciate your kind words and wish you safe travels. Thank you for choosing Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton.

Ratib, thank you for the 5-star rating! We're delighted to hear about your great experience with Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. We appreciate your kind words.

Mercedes, we're thrilled to hear about your positive experience at Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. Thank you for recommending our education services. We appreciate your feedback!

Chain - I think everyone is nervous when they come in for a test, so we all work hard to keep things calm - glad to hear you were able to overcome the nerves and show off your skills.

Thank you, Luis!

Nazir, you are so welcome. Thank you for choosing Pacific Driver Education and for taking time to leave a review.

Hey, Juke - don't make it sound like 47 is ancient! (Said the guy born in '76...) Congratulations on that license - Heidi is awesome, right? People often are surprised we don't just work with 15 year olds, but that our students and test clients are anywhere from their teens up into their 80s! (So, again, 47 - not that old! )

Thanks!

Adam - I'm glad to hear you had an overall good experience and appreciated our efficiency - we do work hard to keep on schedule to minimize the "bite" you have to take out of your day to test. My experience in traffic safety in Oregon doesn't go back far enough to remember a free road test, but I do remember it being $9 for a very long time. At the start of 2024 DMV raised most of their testing prices, and a regular road test went up to $45 at a DMV office. This is set by the legislature (which is why it doesn't change often). Even then, $45 doesn't represent the true cost of a test. The DMV is able to subsidize testing for Oregonians with tax revenue. Since we are a private business, our tests have to represent their actual cost (which we try to keep as low as possible while still paying a decent wage to our employees). Oregonians are fortunate to have both options - DMV and private testing businesses - as this allows a lower cost option vs a more efficient option and each person can choose which is best for them.

keith, thank you for taking time to share your experience - very glad the process was easy for you. If you were able to get that license the same day, count yourself lucky ! While the DMV won't tell us exactly what happens once we submit a test score (which we do through their website after a test is completed) they are very clear that people should wait 24 hours between their test and going to the DMV office to get the license. I know some folks do as you did and try the same day (even though we pass on the 24 hour message verbally and on our testing receipts) and lately we have been hearing back that others have not been so fortunate.

Seya, you are most welcome! Thank you for taking time to share you thoughts.

Thank you, Lara - Heidi IS fantastic!

Thank you, Fernanda!

Thank you so much for sharing your recommendation - always glad to hear we've made someone a little more comfortable in the testing environment. I also appreciate you saying the cost was worth it - we do try to keep our costs as low as possible while still providing a good wage for all of our staff and quality facilities and equipment for our clients.

Thank you Carlos!

Thank you Kiesha!

Ray - thank you for sharing your experience. We try very hard to stick to our schedule so all of our clients can stick to their busy schedules as well.

Thank you, Baseer, for sharing your experience!

Esha - thank you for sharing your experience. Left turns - especially unprotected left turns - are a common error in testing. It's great that you were able to take the knowledge from your first test and apply it the second time around! While we're never happy to see anyone fail, I hope people can appreciate that it's better to make some mistakes when an examiner can help you avoid a crash than to make the same mistakes driving on their own.

Thank you for taking time to leave a review Bart - we work hard to give everyone coming through our doors the best chance for a great experience, and it's always nice to hear we've succeeded!

Jason - thank you for taking time to leave a review. I'm very glad you saw your instructor as being honest and fair - I promise all of us, are but I know sometimes it doesn't come across that way in the moment.

Thank you Natthinee - we all really enjoy working together and try to bring share same feeling with all our great clients.

Thank you for sharing, Joseph - our examiners and instructors work hard to be clear and professional but also welcoming.

Thank you Kenia - we appreciate your words.

Devon - we're glad to hear you had a good experience once you made it inside! (It is true that at both our locations, because of the building setup, you do usually have to walk around at least one corner of the building to find our front door!)

Venkata - we are really glad to hear we were able to help calm your nerves. We know everyone - or at least almost everyone - comes in nervous when preparing for a driving test; we try to keep things calm so anyone testing is ready to show off their best driving skills.

Belen - congratulations on overcoming those nerves and passing your driving test. We're glad to hear we helped you feel more comfortable.

Thank you, Magdalena, for taking the time to share those thoughts - we really appreciate it.

Random - thank you for taking the time to share those specific thoughts. Congratulations on passing your test - hopefully those tips will help you be an even safer driving as you start racking up those miles!

Thank you, Adriana, for leaving us a positive review. It's always nice to hear that we were able to help calm someone's nerves so they could show off their driving skills.

Jeffery - thank you for the great review!

Congratulations on passing your test Evelyn. Sounds like you've got some skills if you're getting a pass and compliments on top - keep up the safe driving!

Dear Coleen, thank you for your positive review! We are glad to hear that you had a great experience with Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. We appreciate your recommendation and look forward to serving you again in the future. Drive safely! - Pacific Driver Education

Thank you so much for your kind words, Taryn!

Sefonia - we work hard to create a welcoming atmosphere for what is a stressful experience for many, so I'm really glad to hear you felt welcomed. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Thank you Caleb - Heidi really is great. Glad to hear you found it easy to schedule!

Thank you, one and only brian lion, for taking time to share your review.

Thanks Tamana - we think so too!

Thank you Annadale - we do try to keep it relaxed and comfortable while still carefully upholding the DMV standards.

Congratulations on passing your test Phoenix!

Thank you for your kind words and for choosing PDE. I'm glad you appreciated the effort our staff puts into helping clients feel welcome and ready to show off their best driving skills.

Arnav - thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Nathan - thank you for sharing your thoughts - we're so glad you had a good experience.

Dear Figen, Thank you for taking the time to leave a review for Pacific Driver Education in Beaverton. We are thrilled to hear that you had a positive experience with our driving school and that your son was able to pass his driving test with ease. We understand that the DMV can be a daunting experience, especially for new drivers. That's why we strive to provide a supportive and personalized approach to our services. We are glad that our instructor, Steve, was able to ease your son's nerves and provide him with the confidence he needed to pass his test. We appreciate your recommendation and are grateful to have played a part in your son's journey to getting his license. We wish him all the best on the roads and hope to see him for any future driving needs. Thank you for choosing Pacific Driver Education. We value your feedback and look forward to serving you and your family again in the future. Best regards, The Pacific Driver Education Team