Defensive Driving School of Bellevue (148th/Near Microsoft)

Fantastic experience: I signed up for a warm up test followed by a road test with Walter Avillanoza, and I had an absolutely excellent experience. His clear instructions during the warm up session were incredibly helpful and I successfully passed the exam. I highly recommend booking a test with Walter Avillanoza, as he provided great tips and instructions and made the entire experience stress free.

Fantastic experience: I completed all my driving classes and passed my test here, and the experience was outstanding. The school offers incredibly flexible scheduling, which was a big advantage compared to other driving schools. The instructors are highly knowledgeable and very friendly. A special shoutout to Walter Avillanoza and Ahmed Kmail! Both instructors were patient and provided valuable tips that have been extremely helpful in my driving journey.

Negative experience: I took both my knowledge and skills tests at this location. The instructor for my skills test had a thick accent and didn't give clear directions. For instance, she asked me to park behind a white car, but there were two white cars. When I asked which one, I could tell she was getting irritated, which made me very nervous. She then said to go into the driveway, and I interpreted as to back up into the driveway. She actually meant to park behind the white car closest to the driveway. If you’re a first-timer or have difficulty understanding accents, I recommend asking for another instructor or taking the skills test elsewhere.

Negative experience: Had a horrible driving test experience with an instructor named John in 2019. I could not understand a single word he said. He was quite impatient during the test, kept making weird faces, and passed rude comments the whole time. He looked like he was high or something. Would not recommend going to this place. Edit - Yes, that's right. I passed the test as soon as I switched to a different driving school. Anyway, I acknowledge my error during the second attempt for a violation of the law (rolling stop), which I only realized after the test. But, I was happy with the fact that the test was conducted fairly. However, the 1st attempt when I committed a dangerous action was solely because of John's impatience and unclear communication, and it still haunts me to this day. One of my friends recently took a test at your school and she had a similar experience which prompted me to write a review.

Negative experience: It's been a very frustrating experience to schedule a knowledge test with defensive. I rescheduled mine and I went to the redmond center to see my name not being there. They didn't even apologize and I had to call support and be scheduled another. People miscommunicate and act like they do favor for the client. This is making me consider 911 or Sam's instead of Defensive. I've not made any threats. Don't hold it against the client please. You can see what happened in your call records and emails. It's been disappointing and super unclear.

Fantastic experience: I took my Road Test here with Pem. She is very kind and helpful. I highly recommend taking the warm-up package when taking your Road Test. Hope you also pass your test and get your DL successfully.

Fantastic experience: Best driving school in the area! I’ve been trying to learn how to drive since I was a teenager always unsuccessfully. I came across this school hoping to try one more time, best decision of my life! the staff are very professional, patient and truly care about my success. I want to thank Pam so much! For her patience and mentorship throughout this process. I was a very nervous driver and I left that school feeling safe and 10000% confident with my driving skills. A very special thank you to JC as well for all his support with my driving.

Fantastic experience: I want to thank Ahmed so much! He's like a mentor, incredibly patient with me especially because not everyone has the patience for a slow learner like me. He's always willing to explain things again and again, without ever getting irritated or annoyed. He helped me overcome my driving anxiety. I remember having a class with another instructor (I won't mention his name), but he was very rude and impatient. I felt hopeless because I didn't think anyone else could help. Driving anxiety made me find excuses to avoid it altogether. But reality dawned – I need to drive! Ahmed is definitely a great instructor. He pushes you and helps you face your fears. I think it's very important for instructors to be patient, just like Ahmed.

Fantastic experience: jason shoutout. he tells the best dad jokes and is very engaged in making sure everyone learns the material.

Negative experience: Rude staffs with limited patience, so really hard to learn driving with them. Would not recommend, especially for your skill tests. You expect them to point/correct your mistakes during the warmups, but they stay mostly silent throughout the warmup and would directly fail in the skills test.

Fantastic experience: I thought my teacher was super funny he made the class really engaging

Fantastic experience: I scheduled a 30 min warm up + skills test at this location. Pam really helped me in pointing out the silly mistakes I did in my 30 min warm up. I was able to fix those in my test and passed.! It was a nice experience.

Fantastic experience: As an adult that had never driven a car before, and with a bit of anxiety when it came to driving due to prior incidents I would say that both of my instructors (Miss Pam and Ahmed) did an amazing job of teaching me the skills to drive and to get confident behind the wheel. So happy I finally got my drivers license

Fantastic experience: I took driving lessons and test at this school and had a great learning experience. Thanks to Pam for being patient with me and guiding me through all maneuvers! Highly recommend Pam and this driving school.

Fantastic experience: I had a warm-up followed by a driving test with instructor Jumma who was extremely helpful throughout. During warm-up, he pinpointed my mistakes and gave guidance to improve on the maneuvers. Post that I was able to pass the test. Would definitely recommend this center to others, especially the warm-up session right before the test. Kudos to Defensive Driving School and instructors Mr. Jumma, and Ms. Maggie for helping me right from my first driving class to knowledge and skill tests.

Fantastic experience: I took 5 classes with Pam and she was fantastic. Super helpful throughout and helped me pass my driving test. Highly recommend Pam and Defensive driving school.

Fantastic experience: I currently have Clay as my instructor and I have loved all of his classes. He makes class engaging and fun and always makes sure the content is fully understood. I greatly appreciated the time he called on Kasen again to respond to a question.

Fantastic experience: I had a great experience. I took 4 lesson with Pam. She is Amazing. She gave me great feedback and I had problem with parallel parking but how she explained that to me was amazing. now I do best parallel parking if someone said is hard I will say no, its so easy ☺️☺️

Fantastic experience: I had a really great driving experience at Bellevue (148th/near Microsoft) branch. I took 5 sessions with Pam and was able to clear my driving test. I feel a lot more confident in driving in US now.

Fantastic experience: I had the best experience at defensive driving school. I particularly liked a female instructor ( sorry, don’t remember her name) with whom I did most of my classes. She was very patient but particular at the same time!

Fantastic experience: Clay knows what he's talking about, is engaging and fully educated on driving. He knows fun facts and brings a serious energy to class but incorporates humor and interests even the most unmotivated student. He has spoken to people like EMTs and knows all about the blind and such and it's really helpful and interesting to hear about these fun tidbits. Not only is Clay friendly and outgoing, he really cares about the success of his students! If I didn't want to get my license, I wouldn't mind repeating this class!! Our other teacher, Paul is very helpful. He answers every question in Q&A promptly and has a great sense of humor. Thank you so much guys!!

Negative experience: I hope my review adds value to the discussion here. This school has good trainers and bad ones. The administration is not open to any feedback, they will take action against you for reporting a bad trainer, and they will close your account. Given that they charge exorbitantly highest prices in the area, they do have the lowest standards of business conduct and professionalism. In my personal experience, I got a bad trainer in a driving lesson which was my last one before skills test. All he did during the lesson was to continuously ask me to go beyond the speed limit, shout at me with personal attacks. I was pretty confused on the targeted personal comments, even telling me I will "fail the skills test for sure". I did not expect that from a trainer in the US during a lesson, especially when all the other trainers in past lessons had been nothing short of great (I even did some mock tests with couple instructors and they all passed me with above 90). After this horrible experience in the lesson was reported to the school on a call on the same day, they said give it in writing and we will take action. I sent the mail, and a follow up, they did not take action on the incident at all, rather the next weekday they sent me a mail that they don't see any problem with how the instructor conducted the lesson and have closed my account. I would not give the name of the lady who did this as I do not believe in personal attacks, and I am not sure if further upper management was ever involved. I still had one 2 hour workshop remaining on my account when she closed the account. Finally, I'll just say most instructors here are good, but the real spirit of business ethics shows when bad things happen and this school has no business ethics at all.

Fantastic experience: A big thank you to Bailee, he is the best driving instructor. He is very patient, understanding and good motivator. With him as instructor, my son overcome the nervousness and give him confidence.

Fantastic experience: I took 10 driving Classes of 60mins each from Kathleen H. and Jumma. Both are great instructors. I would recommend Kathleen if you want to drive with confidence on freeways. I have moved to NJ now but her lessons and tricks are still helping me drive with confidence.

Fantastic experience: My twin boys really enjoyed the drive instructor Bailey. He was patient and very informative. The boys felt calm when he was instructing.

Fantastic experience: I took 5 lessons and studied from Kathleen Heaton and Jumma Elmghirbi. They are the best driving teachers! They taught me the essential techniques of driving, especially the backing maneuver and parallel parking. All you need to do is to follow their instructions and repeat several times, then you will definitely master the skills. As a new driver, learning in this school helps me overcome the fear of driving and master all the skills. So I highly recommend this driving school to those who want to learn how to drive as a beginner. Better find Heaton and Elmghirbi!

Fantastic experience: I took my driving lesson here and Billie is a great instructor . He is very calm ,patience and interactive. He explains each and every detail with good examples. I could not imagine a better instructor than him.

Fantastic experience: I took only 30 min of warm up lesson before skills test and Kathleen Heaton was amazing in explaining the rules, making me comfortable on the road and before drive test. Heaton knew how to explain based on the candidate and prior experience. I strongly encourage to consider the 148th street Microsoft branch, as staff was very friendly and advise you on the questions you have. Especially If you are new to driving and in or around Bellevue/Kirkland/Seattle consider defense driving school. I also need to appreciate the DDS call centre support team, they were so calm, patient to answer all the question and they even helped me to navigate through the DMV website, explained what all steps to be done for driving license. This gave me very clear idea on what all steps to be done, especially when you are new to US or WA state. Thanks

Fantastic experience: I took lessons from Kathleen Heaton, she was very helpful with my development and was very generous with her time. Very thankful!

Fantastic experience: I took 12 lessons with Kathleen Heaton. I had no experience driving before but she did an excellent job of teaching me all the rules and helping get enough experience to pass the exam with confidence.

Fantastic experience: I had a great experience with Defensive Driving School. I'm a European driver with some bad driving habits, and in the past 3 years I had been so used to driving on the other side. Kathleen made this miracle happen with her great patience. I have learned some handy tips & tricks, and a great understanding of road signs from her rich driving experience. Personally she is kind and patient to me, I'm impressed by her professionalism. As an experienced driver, I still feel the need to take hours lessons with her as I am now driving in a new continent, learning from her valuable experience. As a learner or experienced driver, there's never a limit to learning about the best practices. Thanks again Katheen for her life-changing driving lessons.

Fantastic experience: Very pleased with them! I did not take classes because I already had a driver license from another country but went to the school for the knowledge and skills test. You should know the test is on paper and not computer and the skills test is with their car but i think you can use yours also if you want. The school has nice automatic and compact cars so that was fun! The team is professional and I highly recommend them! Five stars from me!

Fantastic experience: I have taken 5 classes with Kathleen Heaton. I have passed my driving test. It is an amazing experience with her. Very professional and smooth in communicating the rules. I liked the way she was calm and very patient in explaining the multiple techniques. She was encouraging and supportive through the classes which boosted my confidence. Thank you Kathleen.

Fantastic experience: I took lessons from DDS and also took my final road test here. For lessons I would recommend starting with Pam if you a new driver with absolutely no experience on the road and doing a few lessons with Kathleen once you’re comfortable. If you are already comfortable, I’d recommend taking lessons with Kathleen directly, she’s amazing! I took my final road test with Jumma and passed the test. Def recommend taking a warm-up drive if you are a nervous driver - helps calm your nerves before the actual test and the instructor will also call out mistakes that you’ve been making during the warm-up so that you can avoid them during the actual road test. Jumma was very calm through the warm-up drive and the actual road test. I definitely recommend DDS and Jumma for the final test.

Fantastic experience: I took five lessons with Kathleen Heaton and passed my driving test! She taught me all I needed to know to be able to pass the test: traffic rules, operational techniques, and useful tips. She was very thorough, patient, and kind with her teaching and made sure that I was able to practice a lot given the time we had. Thank you so much for the amazing experience and for helping me to pass my test!

Fantastic experience: My girlfriend took classes from this location. We had the pleasure of working with Mr. Jumma to help her learn driving from scratch. He is a fantastic instructor. He was very encouraging throughout and was able to provide tips that helped her quickly improve her driving skills. She also took and cleared the driving test here which was professionally conducted and graded fairly. We would highly recommend this school and Mr. Jumma. Thank you!

Fantastic experience: I took driving lessons at Defensive Driving school Bellevue followed by the skill test. Initially I was nervous but My instructor Kathleen Heaton is a very experienced instructor. She is best Instructor, calm,patient and very polite at telling all the necessary safe driving tips, rules. Wherever I went wrong she corrected me and explained all my mistakes (in detail). I have taken all inputs and passed my driving test. I would definitely recommend training this center for any one to take first driving journey, especially with Heaton. Kathleen Heaton — Thank you so much for guiding, helping and encouraging me, you are one the kind person I have met.

Positive experience: I was nervous intially but Pam made me comfortable and helped me.Thank you so much.you are one the sweetest person I have met.

Fantastic experience: I took 5 lessons with the instructor Mr. Jumma and I passed the road test today. Mr. Jumma is very professional, calm and amazing instructor. His instructions are clear, easy to understand and follow. He gives clear picture with drawings how to do slow speed maneuvers like parallel parking and back around the corner which you can never go wrong. Overall I had an awesome experience with the defensive driving school and the instructor Mr.Jumma. I would highly recommend Mr. Jumma for the new drivers.

Fantastic experience: I got passed skill test today successfully. My greatest appreciation especially to Ms. Kathleen Heaton. She is best Instructor, calm and polite at telling all the necessary safe driving tips, rules then clearly explained all my mistakes while on each ten driving lessons. For her guidance, I got more confident get drive on road signals and especially on freeway. I would definitely recommend training this center for any one to take first driving journey. Thank you.

Fantastic experience: Heaton is an amazing instructor! She has taught me so well in such a short amount of time. Her instructions were always very precise and easy to follow and remember specially for a noob driver. Her tricks and rules to driving will always stay with me and help me while I am on the road. :)

Fantastic experience: Jumma was a really great instructor in the drivers test. Would definitely recommend! Very professional and easy to understand!

Fantastic experience: It was an excellent learning experience while getting driving lessons over here. I am new to USA and took knowledge test, 5 driving classes and skills test at this school and passed the exam. I got an excellent driving instructions and tips from both of my instructors (Jumma Elmghirbi and Kathleen Heaton). I would definitely recommend this center for any one to take their driving journey. Thank you so much my instructors and school for teaching a life skill.

Fantastic experience: I moved to US recently i heard about DDS from a Cab Driver about excellent quality they Deliver .I enrolled for two 90 min classes followed by a Test. The time i spent with Kathleen Heaton was so much useful to correct myself. I was so happy that she scrutinizes every mistake and help me to become better and better. Thank you Kathleen Heaton for your Patience and Passion to teach. I took my test with John Majeed, another amazing guy who just explained me very clearly what's expected and i cleared the test. I am so impressed that even my wife is currently having classes with same set of incredible Team now. Thank you DDS :)

Fantastic experience: I took a driving test with a guy named Jumma. Very nice and humble guy. He made me feel very comfortable taking the test. I would definitely recommend him for someone who is having a hard time passing the test.

Fantastic experience: It was an awesome experience working with Jumma. He was very professional and relaxed at the same time. He knows how to teach and help nervous new drivers. I would highly recommend him as your instructor!

Negative experience: The drivers always stop right in front of my house and parallel park and have previously hit one of my cars and left like nothing happened.horrible.

Fantastic experience: This driving school was extremely helpful in providing me with the practice and knowledge in passing the skills test. In particular, Gumma, gave me lots of help by being patient and sharing great advice.

Fantastic experience: I am more than happy with the driving school, each of the staff is very friendly and helpful at all times and with Jumma who was very professional and with whom he feels safe when he goes out to drive. success to all !!

Fantastic experience: Heaton was a wonderful instructor. Taught me all the important rules and tricks to keep in mind for safe driving. Learnt so much more from her than I initially expected to learn. She ensured to value my time with her well. Had an amazing experience with Defensive Driving School overall

Fantastic experience: Did my warmup and driving test with Pam and she was amazing! She clearly explained what was expected and guided through the test in a very calm manner. Better understood a lot of safety rules because of her

Fantastic experience: I took my driving test today with instructor Jumma. It was a great experience! His instructions were very clear and easy to follow.

Fantastic experience: Jumma is the best and safest instructor. Took my car skills test too! Would definitely recommend this school for lessons with him!

Fantastic experience: Took 5 1-Hour sessions with highly skilled instructor Kathleen Heaton. She is very professional and explains everything very patiently in detail. I was able to pass the skill test because of her teachings. I would highly highly recommend her as your instructor. Thanks DDS for such a great learning experience.

Fantastic experience: I took 5 one-hour classes with DDS Bellevue. I took lessons from 3 different instructors and I would like to specially thank Kathleen Heaton for her teaching skills. She explained each scenario/rule/maneuver as well as my mistakes very clearly. I passed my road test after 1 failed attempt. Thank you.

Fantastic experience: Took five 1 hour sessions with Kathleen Heaton and today I was able to pass my skills test. She is a skilled instructor, patiently explains everything in detail. I would highly recommend her as the instructor. Thanks Defensive driving school for a fruitful training.

Fantastic experience: Passed my driving test first time with the help of instructor Gayan Pillai. Would recommend for lessons. The instructor was very friendly and made me feel relaxed during my driving test.

Fantastic experience: Excellent service and excellent testers. I tested here and was so nervous and the man doing my test was patient and understanding. I'd definitely recommend here to anyone especially if you're nervous going in!

Fantastic experience: Took 5 1 hour classes with Jumma and I passed my skills test today. I would highly recommend him as an instructor. He really helped me build my confidence and improve my driving skills.

Fantastic experience: One of the best driving school. Learn and earn the driving skills.

Negative experience: I just had a very bad experience for my skills test here. The instructor, Jumma Elmghirbi, was rude from the beginning and not clear in communicating what he wanted. He was continuously ridiculing me which was absolutely unnecessary. It's fine if he thought my driving was not up to the mark and failed me in the test, but there was no need to be rude and criticize harshly. This made me feel more intimidated and I ended up performing worse.

Fantastic experience: Jumma was a great instructor, and I appreciate his help getting my licence.

Fantastic experience: I took the driving classes from Ms. Heaton, she is very knowledgeable and patient in training. She is very experienced in driving, gives very helpful tips to fast pace your driving in the US.

Fantastic experience: I took my written and driving tests here. The staff were very professional and Jumma went out of his way to make sure that I knew how to proceed with the next steps of getting my license. I 100% recommend this place.

Fantastic experience: I took 10 driving lessons of 60 mins each with Ms. Kathleen Heaton and passed my road test with flying colors. She is the best instructor ever. She is very patient, calm and polite at telling all the necessary safe driving tips. She inculcates the basic driving skills so effectively into you. I would highly recommend Ms. Heaton to all looking forward to learn driving with DDS.

Fantastic experience: Kathleen Heaton - Best Instructor. I took 10 lessons of 90 min each. This lady was remained calm though my learning mistakes. Corrected when needed. Her various tips on some driving situations were true words of wisdom. Driving by self now responsibly.

Negative experience: My instructor, I don’t know if she knew that I panic instantly when someone starts yelling at me but she was yelling at me most of the lessons here I took. If you’re a nervous, first time adult driver I wouldn’t recommend here. The instructor wasn’t patient, screamed at me for no reason and was honestly a bit humiliating. If you’re 16 and looking for a driving school it might work but adult customers? Look somewhere else

Fantastic experience: I took lessons with Defensive Driving and it was great. Trainers are really good and are very professional. I really like training with John as he prepared me very well for the actual test. Another great point about DDS is that even when you pass the test, they will tell you the areas you need to work and help you. Thank you DDS.

Fantastic experience: I learned driving with instructor Jumma. I'm glad to go through this training as Jumma helped me not only pass the tests but also learn driving in freeway and in city. He is good at understanding how I'm learning and coach in right direction.

Fantastic experience: I just passed the driving test! I worked with Jumma and Heaton. They were both encouraging teachers and helped me get over the fear of driving. Thank you!

Fantastic experience: I did my five one hour classes with Pam Oxentenko and it was pretty good. She is calm and composed and was able to provide good feedback and recommendation which enabled me to get the license at the end. Also appreciate Jumma for providing the link to the online driving lessons.

Fantastic experience: Took my driving classes and test here. My instructor was Heaton, she gave some very useful driving tips and tricks and thanks to her, I feel a lot more confident driving now. I highly recommend taking classes here!

Negative experience: I took my driving test here. I couldn't understand anything the examiner (John majeed ) spoke. Even I have asked mulitple times that I couldn't get what you are taking and his voice is too low. He has given some old car, took me near to Microsoft buildings. Before reaching the signal asked me to take left. After taking left he take me back to driving school and told me that there speed limit is 25 and I went on 40 hence failed it. Not at all recommending this place.

Positive experience: Prompt and good service. Even after pre-application you have to fill in same details on a sheet and give knowledge test on a piece of paper. In another state 27 years back it was computerized.

Fantastic experience: John is one of the best driving instructors that I have dealt with. He communicates well and is very professional. I recommend this school to anyone getting a drivers license.

Fantastic experience: Today I gave driving skill test. John was the instructor. He is very good communicator and very professional. He knows his stuff very well. I am very happy with the service DDS is giving. Thanks.

Fantastic experience: Awesome experience !! People there were very professional and nice. It was awesome made me feel comfortable I had a little bit of nerves but I was able to pass my test. Thanks for everything. Mr.jouma & john you guys are great.good start for anybody wanting to drive or learn how to Thanks again

Negative experience: I am extremely disappointed by the unprofessional and extreme discriminating attitude by the examiner Kathleen Heaton this morning during my road test. I was verbally harassed by her every minute she was with me. She did not wear a mask the whole time. I was scared to tell her to put on a mask as she could negatively react. She clearly seemed not holding up to the DDS standards and regulations. She was mean the whole time and very rudely told me not to ask her anything. She put me in so much pressure that I was unable to focus. I did speak to the manager Desiree about this issue who was extremely professional and helpful and tried her best to make me feel comfortable and resolve the issue. I just feel that the DDS should ensure that the examiners are checked on and coached frequently and reminded of their supervisory role and not be such rude humiliating individuals. I was vocal enough to speak up for myself but do feel worried about those who just bear this kind intimidatng attitude and suffer. Thanks again Desiree for helping me with this humiliating situation and working towards its mitigation.

Fantastic experience: Took classes and skill test at Defense Driving School Bellevue. Eric and Jhumma were my instructors. They were very nice and polite. They are experienced and taught me with care. They identified my driving issues pretty accurately. They give good references to correct your driving. Highly recommended!

Fantastic experience: Getting my license again after my out of state license expired was really confusing in Washington. I had to take the knowledge exam and skill test again, same as I did when I was younger. I'm happy I found Defensive Driving School because they walked me through the steps. All my questions were answered, and they helped me find appointments that worked with my busy schedule. I definitely recommend doing a warmup before the skill test. It was essential to calm my nerves. My driving instructor, John, was great... very patient and good at explaining things. I passed the tests and walked away with a few things I need to work on to improve my driving. I'm really thankful for the feedback since safety is a top priority. Everyone should have to take the driving tests again at some point in their life! You might forget more than you realize and pick up habits that may not be ideal. Thank you for a wonderful experience! I would recommend this driving school to everyone. My friends and family have had bad experiences elsewhere, but this school has top service. Now I just sit and wait for my DMV appointment that is 3 weeks away.. Oh well. Safety first.

Fantastic experience: I took 5 lessons at the Defensive Driving school Bellevue followed by the skill test. My instructor Kathleen Heaton is a very experienced instructor. I have been driving since about a year with my husband, but she gave me some tips that we never knew of. She also quickly caught my weak areas and made me practice them. She also made me practice all the driving tests maneuvers many times during the lessons, guided me about things I should take care of, and pointed out my mistakes. She also explained what mistakes other drivers make, and how they fail the test. I think she is a great asset, and she works really hard all day long nearly every day. The office staff was great, especially Mr. Gumma, who specially accommodated me despite the busy schedule. He also suggested me to take the lessons whenever the slot is available because of how busy the schedules could get. I thank the whole team, especially Kathleen and Mr.Gumma for their co-operation and support, and I would certainly recommend this school for training and testing. One advice for test-givers, if possible take at least 1 lesson with the school or a warm-up lesson before the test, as it helps one get accustomed and familiar with their car and stuff.

Fantastic experience: I purchased a knowledge test + 30 min warmup and driving test here. For the knowledge test you can arrive anytime with no appointment to complete it. They allow 3 attempts and were kind enough to give me the drivers handbook to review after I failed my first attempt. I would highly recommend the 30 min warmup, especially if you are using their cars for the test (during Covid this is a requirement). The instructor guided me through each of the key tested maneuvers 2-3 times and explained what they needed to see during the test to pass. This is a great area to take the driving test in, the roads are fairly simple to drive and most of the test was just in residential streets with basically no traffic.

Negative experience: I failed for one main reason, my speed. I asked at the start how do I tell my speed because I was looking at the tachometer and the lady said that she could not tell me that. The actual speed was u right under the dash deep into a hole like a Prius. I have not driven a car like this and was nervous so I never noticed and was never told that was the speed. It’s silly I didn’t see it but I feel as though it should be mandatory to be told where I check my speed in the car since every car is different. She told me after she thought I meant the speed of the road but still would t let me retake for free. I suggest 911 instead.

Fantastic experience: I learnt driving from scratch,My driving instructor was Heaton ,she is really an amazing teacher ,she was very patient and taught me good driving skills. I would highly recommend this school and my instructor.

Fantastic experience: Had a great experience learning here. Friendly instructors who teach you defensive practices to make you a good driver. Took classes with Kathleen, Pam and Nycci, all were great instructors. Would highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: My drive Instructor was Nicki, who did a phenomenal job mentoring and helping me with many things I needed to learn yesterday including parallel parking!! She had good defensive driving habits and tricks, and I wouldn’t have recommended anyone else to have been my instructor!

Fantastic experience: Came here for the WA tests because I can't renew my expired CA license. The pricing are very reasonable. My instructor Kathleen said she works in here because she love teaching.

Fantastic experience: Nate C. - Thank you Nycci for creating a safe and comfortable environment to learn the complexity and safety of operating a automobile. And Thank you the various drivers thst helped me learn hand on experience.

Fantastic experience: My instructor nycci has helped me with a lot and how to drive safely without harming myself or others. I’ve learned many things I would have never learned just driving by myself and because of her I’ve done amazing on all of my drives:)

Fantastic experience: Absolutely loved my experience at this place. My instructors, Heaton and Nicki, were both amazing. I mean, they made me comfortable with parallel parking in a couple of classes. What more could you ask for? Heaton is super friendly and gives excellent tips while you're driving to avoid minor errors. The management team is also top notch. 100% recommend!

Fantastic experience: I just did my knowledge test for the second time today at Defensive Driving Bellevue. I was so desperate to get my licence after procrastinating it for a long time. Ajay, a very positive open minded man, who set me up for for doing my knowledge test was very patient and respectful when I asked few questions about the driving law in US, in oppose to Australia where I have come from. After, I passed the test, I thought I would have to get a permit in order to do a driving test which he pointed out it was not needed and he booked a driving test for me right after my knowledge test. Heaton, with a big smile and lightly dressed up for Halloween was very nice to me. We talked about Sydney and a trip the she had had to there, which helped me to cool down a bit :) , I was a bit stressed unusually, she calmly lead the test, I was confused at few times with my left and right direction and parallel parking which she patiently reiterated her instructions to me. Heaton also gave me a lift on her way to home to DOL. Very nice and kind heart people. Thank you!

Fantastic experience: I had a great experience learning driving at this school. Kathleen is an amazing instructor and I loved all my sessions with her. <3

Fantastic experience: I had a very good experience with this school. Initially strangely I did not find this listed in the DOL website, but was still recommended my company assigned consultant to settle in Redmond. Kathleen was a very good instructor. I would recommend her.

Fantastic experience: Had a good experience with instructor Kathleen!!! She was really patient and taught me well. It was pleasure learning experience with her. I would like to recommend her.

Fantastic experience: Had a great experience with their instructor Ms Heaton. Highly recommend this place for scheduling sessions or getting your DL test. They are very professional and helpful. I did my session with Ms Heaton, she is very helpful and guides you with the rules & provides proper instructions.

Fantastic experience: I had a wonderful learning experience with Nycci. She is a very good mentor and teaches you everything very patiently. I learned driving in a Ford Mustang, fairly new car. She teaches in a very detailed way but makes it very easy to understand. Her tips and tricks helped me a lot to gain confidence on the busy city roads and also the fast freeways. Would 100% recommend this location in general and Nycci in particular. Passed my knowledge and driving tests on first attempt.

Fantastic experience: A wonderful learning experience with Nycci. She is a very good mentor and teaches you from scratch. She has more than 25 years of driving experience and could easily point out where you are going wrong. Overall, a very welcoming and friendly staff.

Fantastic experience: My instructor was Kathleen Heaton. She was very calm and composed, and gave good advice. She helped me hone my skills, specially parallel parking. The cars are also fairly new, I drove in a 3 year old Civic. Highly recommended.

Fantastic experience: My instructor Kathleen Heaton helped me in polishing my driving skills. She is very calm and super friendly to work with. Moreover, she took time from her schedule to accommodate my request for the test. I highly recommend her to anyone looking for driving lessons

Fantastic experience: It is very nice, teachers are very kind and can teach student how to really drive. And I love it