Defensive Driving School of Bellevue (Factoria)

Positive experience: Classes make it easy and simple to get your license

Fantastic experience: I got Clay and Josh as instructor, with Paul answering all our questions. All of them were awesome!!! Thanks to them I passed all my tests ! Thank you!!

Fantastic experience: Would highly recommend taking driving lessons here! I had Bailee as my instructor and he was very patient. He made sure I was comfortable at the wheel before actually driving, then broke down all the maneuvers step by step so it wasn't overwhelming. I went from mixing up the gas and brake pedals to driving on the freeway in 5 lessons! Thank you Bailee and Josh!

Fantastic experience: This school has helped me become a successful and confident driver. I loved learning here, and all the instructors are very kind and extremely helpful. Specifically Clay and Lincoln who are some of the best teachers for driving out there! Overall I had a great experience. Would recommend!

Fantastic experience: i love this place. shout out to steve! i was excited for every class and now that im done i will miss all the instructors.

Fantastic experience: Baillee Wilson is an amazing instructor! I felt very comfortable driving with him. I truly appreciate him detailed explanations and accurate guidance. I highly recommend this place to anyone!

Fantastic experience: Great driving school. Try to get all your appointments with Baillee! He’s the nicest and helped me understand the road better.

Fantastic experience: Really good experience with Baillee Wilson. He helped with making things feel comfortable and taught in a way such that it allowed me to not overthink maneuvers and keep more focus on the road.

Fantastic experience: I had an amazing experience working with Bailey Wilson. If you’re an adult driver struggling with driving anxiety, look no further. Bailey starts by helping you overcome mental roadblocks, which was a game changer for me. I now feel incredibly confident behind the wheel, and I can’t thank Bailey enough for helping me on this journey.

Fantastic experience: had a great online class with clay and good experiences on my drives with Vadym.

Negative experience: Avoid this driving school and test center at all costs. Their primary focus is on getting you to pay for more classes, rather than genuinely assessing your driving skills. They will repeatedly fail you for minor issues, often with just 2 or 3 mistakes. During my first test, I had a 30-minute warm-up session followed by the driving exam. The instructor/examiner, Vadym, was unprofessional and didn't follow basic road safety rules—he jaywalked and failed to use crosswalks. Additionally, his directions were unclear, and he seemed more intent on pushing me to take more classes than conducting a fair evaluation. Initially, I thought this was an issue with just one examiner, but when I took the test again with a different examiner, the same patterns emerged. Keep in mind, I’ve been driving for 12 years. This situation reeks of a conflict of interest, and I’m baffled as to how Washington DMV audits such practices. If their policy is to only pass you after you've taken their classes, they should at least be upfront about it.

Fantastic experience: Overall very good experience. Bailey was excellent

Fantastic experience: Defensive Driving Factoria got one of the best instructors called "Baillee Wilson." He knows what things are even an experienced driver needs to learn to drive safely in Washington. Being a Canadian driving license holder , I wanted to know about different approaches for driving skills being tested in Washington, and he ensured that we learn everything we might ever need while being in Washington. Thank you, Baillee, for making life and driving easier for people you instruct.

Fantastic experience: Steve Peterson was my driving instructor. He is the BEST. He is an excellent trainer. He is patient, polite, calm and friendly. He is very focused in making you learn and very clear in his instructions.He is an amazing teacher. I highly recommend taking lessons from Steve Peterson at Defensive Driving School

Fantastic experience: I had an exceptional learning experience with Steve! Their patience, expertise, and encouraging approach helped me build confidence behind the wheel. Clear instructions and constructive feedback made me a safe and competent driver. Highly recommend Steve to anyone seeking a supportive and skilled driving instructor!

Negative experience: Uh factoria location isnt great. If ur at factoria just choose bailey- i accidentally booked all my drives with the other guy and I didnt like him he wasnt very specific.

Fantastic experience: Professional place to get the driver licence. I was an experienced driver from India, so initially they evaluated my driving and based on that suggested me classes. And then make me ready to do the driver's test which I passed on the first attempt.

Fantastic experience: I had Bailey as an instructor and he was excellent! Very patient and didn’t make me feel stressed at all. He had excellent tips about driving that helped me pass my test!

Positive experience: Okay so I took 5 lessons last year. My coach was a white tall ball dude. While he does his jobs he is extremely rude. Let me explain. He likes to win you over. You know when men first meet each other, or even dogs? They like to win over one another and set ranks. This happened to me. Second lesson. Was waiting outside the building because this is where we met first lesson. He wasn't there for 10 minutes after designated time. I had to walk inside the building to the room. He was there. I said I thought we were gonna meet outside like last time. Then he says "where else do you think we will meet?". I make a mistake during driving. Specifically, I went and waiting for traffic on the wrong lane. He tells me not this lane switch over!! And literally turns the steering wheel with force. I was panicking so I accelerated a bit then braked. The cars behind almost hit me. He shouts like crazy. The man lacks social and emotional intelligence. Oh yeah, not to mention pretending to not remember who I am during the 4th lesson. Acting like he doesn't give a. Avoid that guy. You will know. I must say whenever I send emails they are extremely kind. I also think the lessons are designed well. You just gotta pick the right guy....

Fantastic experience: I recommend the instructor Baillee Wilson at the Factoria location, He is very patient and friendly! he is a really good instructor! you won't stress out with him as your instructor. 10/10 he is the best! y'all better give him a raise!

Fantastic experience: I was taught how to drive better than a large majority of adults on the road, you can't trust anyone.

Positive experience: i recommend the instructor baillee wilson at the factoria location, he’s really good at setting a stress free environment during the course drives and it’s actually j enjoyable as you guys can make jokes and learn at the same time

Negative experience: I had a horrible experience at this place. I did their class online and I think those teachers did a good job but most of the driving tests after that were horrible. Jim was incredibly impatient and yelled at me after I didn't understand what he was trying to teach me and drove the car instead of me. On top of that, the prices that you guys put on your school to your customers is awful. You guys are selling hundreds of dollars for each courses / schedule and my family has had to spend nearly thousands of dollars for this course. While other driving institutes are selling literally 3 times less prices for this course such as 911 and lesser known schools. On top of that, you guys never have any spots open to schedule drives and tests, and if you don't have space, why not spend it on expanding your infrastructure? I'm sure the thousands of dollars you guys make everyday can go into the classrooms at least a little bit, your entire building is a sub building inside a small classroom. Furthermore, when I was 1 point off of my test from passing TWICE, I was given NOTHING to review nor what TOPIC that I could study on and had to wait A MONTH in between each test. And the audacity to price it 125$ and 75$ per retake after that? Are you serious? I then went to 911 driving school and tests priced at only 30$ AND 10$ ONLY after each retake, and they are available every weekday and allowed 3 RETAKES THE SAME DAY. They gave me a list of topics I could review on and gave me sources to where to study them. They're available morning till around night too! What a waste of time I could've already gotten my license through 911, and saved my family a ton of money! This is the main thing that frustrated me about this school. Finally, the customer support on phone some of the people there had rude undertones // gave my slight attitude when I didn't understand something they said. Some were nice though. The rest of these complaints are personal. Certain things that you guys teach I find are also stupid. "As you approach a red light, make sure to lightly honk the horn as you stop". I mean seriously? Like the red light, and the red lights from the car stopping and your visual prowess wasn't enough. There were a lot of other dumb rules you guys had in your workbook that I can't remember but it's stuff that you've never seen in the road probably because of how absurd it is.

Fantastic experience: I did my drivers ed and knowledge test at 911 and did my skills test here. My examiner Akmal, was a very good examiner!

Fantastic experience: It was good. Choan was a chill and good instructor.

Fantastic experience: Great driving school, the instructors are very professional. This was a little hard to find, you actually have to enter though the main door at the front of the building and head to the second floor and then walk down a long hall.

Fantastic experience: Nice : )

Fantastic experience: I had an awesome time at defensive driving school. My course teachers were professional and taught a range of helpful road and driving subjects. The workbook was engaging and beautifully designed. For the in-person drive lessons, some of my teachers were a bit more difficult to work with than others, but overall, I had a B+ good experience (shoutout to James Charvet and Jim Freaney for being some of my favorite instructors!). I think all of the teachers well qualified and experienced, and I learned a lot from them. I think one of the things that I have appreciated the most about DDS is their customer service. Especially since the pandemic, the customer question email has been SUPER helpful and they will always provide thorough answers quickly. This has been such a life-saver as it has helped ease a lot of my anxieties and concerns. Thanks so much for the great experience!!

Negative experience: Had a good driving driving experience with one of the instructors but not with another. I am a new driver with no access to driving practice on my own. I was repeatedly told to practice at home after the classes and my instructor was constantly talking on how practicing at driving class alone can be costly, etc. I felt these kind of conversations were unprofessional. Also, this instructor used to yell at me for mistakes which was very demotivating and rude. Maybe I didn't pick the right instructor.

Fantastic experience: After my daughter took her driver's ed course with another driving school and then attempted the road test twice, we decided to try Defensive and were so happy with the outcome. I was immediately pleased with the costumer service we received as they were very helpful on the phone while scheduling my daughter's hour lesson and road test. My daughter's one hour practice with Gayan was extremely helpful and she felt that she learned many essential skills in only one hour. Gayan was very kind and understanding and an incredible instructor who clearly cared for her success. I would highly recommend Defensive to everyone!

Fantastic experience: The instructors were so kind!

Fantastic experience: I loved my driver Jim he was very helpful and I think everyone should learn from Jim

Positive experience: I had a fantastic experience at DDS. Jim Freany was my instructor. I had no previous experience and now I can drive! He taught me the basics and how to be a good driver and be defensive on the road within a space of two months. I really enjoyed his classes - Thanks Jim! I removed a star for the testing experience. My examiner was Akmal and I had a questionable experience. I raised a formal complaint, but for now avoid testing with him.

Fantastic experience: They were a pretty solid driving school, it was awesome that I could easily schedule drives compared to my friends who were at 911 and they couldn’t schedule a drive for like 2 months or had to go all over to go to drives.

Fantastic experience: I was taught by Paul and verla and overall I really enjoyed it, it was online over zoom but it was great I really had a good time and really got the information into my head. Thank you for teaching me how to drive!

Fantastic experience: Pretty good, I finished driving course by around 6 weeks. They teach everything necessary to drive correctly.

Fantastic experience: Tyson is a cutie

Fantastic experience: Kyle is the homie

Fantastic experience: Jim Freaney is the GOAT

Fantastic experience: Jim is the best driving instructor on this planet! He has a great sense of humor, and a fun way of teaching. He makes sure you know all the basics, and helps you to be successful.

Fantastic experience: Jim Freaney is the best instructor anyone could ask for.I learned so much about driving and became confident at it. He is patient and makes sure you understand everything before going out there. I recommend him for anyone who needs great driving lessons. Thank u JIM.

Fantastic experience: I really enjoyed the classes, very easy to keep up with and I learned a lot ! Jim freany is an great teacher and he is really funny. All my drives were smooth and I learned a lot of important stuff. James charvet is also very patient to go on a drive with !

Fantastic experience: German Yuen is an outstanding driving instructor. He is focused on helping teens become confident, safe drivers. He is patient, offers clear guidance and useful encouragement. I highly recommend him for anyone who needs driving lessons, particularly for teenagers who are just getting started.

Fantastic experience: The overall course efficiently taught the skills necessary to drive and much more. The instructor Jim is an excellent teacher and makes sure students know everything they will need to be self sufficient drivers.

Fantastic experience: Jim is a very good driving instructor who instructed me well in drivers ed. I am now an educated driver. Thanks Jim! I would also like to thank Ms.DuBois. She was a very helpful and chill examinator who helped me stay calm and pass my test. 10/10 would recommend.

Fantastic experience: Jim is a great and very energetic teacher, I learned a lot in his class!

Fantastic experience: I enjoyed the learning course and I found it very informative of the dangers on the road. I'd recommend this to new drivers.

Fantastic experience: Had a fantastic time here. Driving experience was epic, especially German Yuen. The way he teaches was so easy to understand, which made driving way less difficult that I anticipated.

Fantastic experience: German is a great instructor! Very good at explaining things clearly and helping students correct mistakes.

Fantastic experience: German is a wonderfully skillful and empathetic teacher. Everything was great, except online system messed up scheduling the driver test and I had to call support and wait 3 weeks. Still, I feel like this is the best place to get your license, since you get lessons with the same experienced people that teach advanced lessons.

Positive experience: It’s ok

Fantastic experience: Very informative of what I did wrong, gave good information on how to improve and prepare more for my tests.

Fantastic experience: Great course with great instructors!

Fantastic experience: My experience at Driving School could not have been easier. The instructors there, especially Jim Freaney, made driving very easy. He highlights all the main points and makes everything clear and simple. Also, German Yuen is an outstanding teacher that uses simple terms and relates driving to everyday life activities which really helped me out understanding driving. Definitely recommend this school and the wonderful teachers.

Fantastic experience: German Yuen was an amazing driving instructor, he always made sure I understood how to do each maneuver. I am shy by nature and i noticed that he made an effort to make me as comfortable as possible.

Fantastic experience: German Yuen is an excellent instructor! Make sure and sign up to learn from him!! He is thoughtful and has great teaching methods to help students learn safely.

Fantastic experience: We had a great experience with the class and instructors! As a parent, I especially appreciated the optional class for parents. Although I already had one teen driver, it was a great refresher and information. I had a number of questions that I emailed the school about and the staff was incredibly responsive and helpful. I'd like to thank Michelle, Ryan and Bridget for their exceptional customer service!

Fantastic experience: Jim is the BEST instructor ever!

Fantastic experience: Jim is a good teacher and a good instructor, nice and teaches you everything you need to know. German is a good driving instructor and is nice as well.

Fantastic experience: Jim Freaney is the best instructor you can have I learned so much from him about safe driving. -brent

Fantastic experience: My instructor Jim Freaney was very understanding and taught me everything I need to know to pass the test and more importantly drive safe. He made sure I did not get into the common bad habits of driving, and gave me very useful feedback during my classes. I recommend Defensive Driving School and Jim to anyone that want to learn how to drive the right way!

Fantastic experience: Defensive Driving School was an excellent place to learn how to drive! German did a great job teaching me behind the wheel driving techniques and Jim made the classroom portion of class interesting!

Fantastic experience: Jim Freeney is magnificent, wonderful, amazing, stunning, (etc.) driving instructor ! He gives awesome advice and has an excellent personality that can cheer up anyone! Thank you so much!

Fantastic experience: Jim was great! Classes were always entertaining and I went from never touching a steering wheel to getting a 90 on my test!

Fantastic experience: Great school

Negative experience: Rude teachers, I am scared of driving because of the way that Jim Freaney had screamed at me for minor mistakes. I am a new driver and do not deserved to be scared into not wanting to drive at all for minor mistakes that new drivers usually make and would have been better if I was professional informed of my mistakes rather than being punished as if I were a prisoner. Would not recommend. Go somewhere else, trust me.

Positive experience: Gets extremely hot but otherwise a great place to learn driving.

Negative experience: It's hot as a mofo up in here.

Fantastic experience: Jim Freaney was pretty honest and pretty understanding, furthermore a good round of information was given during the teen class which prepares a amateur for the road ahead and what dangers lurk in everday driving. A student, Syrus N.

Fantastic experience: marc is really great and very entertaining!! lots of fun!!

Fantastic experience: Jim Freaney was my driving instructor and taught me everything I needed to know. I wasn't beat down for my mistakes, because Jim knew that everyone makes mistakes on their first drives. He taught me many tips and tricks to be the safest driver possible and I will thank him forever. He also made my classroom experience one that I wanted to show up to because of his humor and passion. Thanks Defensive Driving school!

Fantastic experience: Great driving school. Sorry I didn't know how to park, and you all definitely taught me a lesson. Will definitely be more aware in the future with how I should park.

Fantastic experience: Jim and German were both great driving instructors, you could tell they both have a real passion for driving education and it showed in their hands-on teaching and instruction.

Fantastic experience: Jim, the best driving instructor ever

Fantastic experience: Jim Freaney is the best driving instructor I have ever seen. My brother and sister did there driving school somewhere else but when I did defensive driving school with Jim freaney, he helped me become an excellent driver and he was funny and made the class more enjoyable. I could not ask for a better driving instructor. #madedrivingschoolfun

Fantastic experience: Jim and German were nice and gave helpful tips. I would definitely recommend Defensive Driving!

Fantastic experience: Jim and German are super patient and calm during drives. Super helpful :)

Fantastic experience: Just passed my test and it was all thanks to Jim. Great teacher and great school overall! Definitely the superior choice in driving schools.

Fantastic experience: Jim is a great teacher, gives a lot of tips and can really help you become a better driver. The school itself is easy to work with through their online scheduling as long as you don't procrastinate everything too much which is fair.

Fantastic experience: The classes were good but we got off track a lot

Fantastic experience: Jim was the best instructor I could've asked for. He was not only an affective instructor, but he was also funny and kind. I honestly had so much fun in the classes and I learned to floor it!

Fantastic experience: My driving instructor was Jim Freaney in Factoria, I couldn't have asked for a better teacher than him. He taught us how to be safe on the road and drive effectively but also had created a fun environment to learn in. If you want to drive safely and avoid accidents before they happen Jim is the one to lean from without a doubt.

Fantastic experience: Jim is the BEST instructor. Patient, supportive, funny and honest / direct about progress and when to take your test. Very satisfied!

Fantastic experience: Jim was my instructor and he made the class really fun! most of my drives were with German and that was great as well.

Fantastic experience: German Yuen was a very good instructor and displayed great patience with my wife - who only speaks Chinese .... Well worth the money ! ! !

Positive experience: Jim was funny and kept us entertained while teaching us many important skills. I would recommend this school for anyone taking a drivers ed class. I also took the collision course and it was a great way to learn the skills of avoiding an accident in a safe environment! mia hyatt

Fantastic experience: The class time was convenient for me after school it helped a lot and the instructors were very helpful

Fantastic experience: Carol was my classroom teacher and Fay was my driving instructor. We learned a lot and my driving improved.

Fantastic experience: The instructors were very informative and fun! Driving can be a scary thing at first, but I gained a lot of experience through this program, and I'm certain I will be a better driver in the future as a result.

Fantastic experience: The teacher is really nice and patient

Fantastic experience: Defensive driving school i very fun. It makes me want to practice my driving and a become a better driver. The program is very well prepared and i enjoy my instructor. I am very glad i chose defensive as drivers ed because there is a lot of information that i pick up and learn every lesson. The lesson routes are very good as well. Thank you for being such a great driving school!

Fantastic experience: Defensive is a great place where I learned many key things about driving. My teacher John was excellent and he taught us many tips on how to drive safely in real-life situations. He used many personal experiences that helps relate to what driving looks like on the streets. He is very funny and his hair adds on to his bubbly personality:)

Fantastic experience: I think John is a pretty cool guy. eh drives 10/10 skill and doesn't afraid of anything. Or what ^ they said.

Fantastic experience: I heard from other people that driving school in general was a complete bore, but John was by far the best driving teacher I could ever hope to have. He was incredibly funny and he made sure we learned everything that was necessary in driving safely.

Fantastic experience: Defensive driving school was a great experience! The videos and projects were very informative. My driving instructor, John, gave us great advice to ensure safety on the road and provided helpful driving sessions. I have learned a lot about what it means to be a safe driver and I definitely recommend this driving school!

Positive experience: My classes are about to end in the defensive driving school. I am very glad that I took them, I learned a lot about driving safely and looking out for possible dangers on the road. All of my drives went very smoothly during this course because I listened to instructions and stayed alert. This class prepared me for when I have to drive in situations that may seem difficult. My instructor was John and he definitely taught the class key things to look out for when driving. Plus he has great hair.

Fantastic experience: My experience with Defensive Driving School was great. Our instructor, John, has been a very informative guide, teaching us all we need to know about the rules of the road... And a little bit more. It is a fun course with creative projects, and a generally relaxed environment. The drives felt safe, especially seeing as it was my first time ever behind the wheel! I would recommend this to anybody for driver's ed. And thanks to John, there is one thing I will always remember about safe driving if I forget everything else, "Leave plenty of open space."