Street Smarts Driver Education

Fantastic experience: I had driving for phobia for years and decided it was time to overcome it and work towards my license. Gary was my instructor and he was SO patient and calm. He even would gently remind me when I was too tensed up. Learning to relax behind the wheel came to me quickly. He took me down the roads that are most commonly used by the DOT test, which has a few speed limit changes and an awkward stop sign stop. Gary also gave me a detailed list of things that can instantly fail you: Hitting the curb. Not coming to a full, complete stop at the stop sign. Failing to use turn signals. Speeding. The DOT itself is somewhat vague about how the driving test goes, but having this knowledge ahead of time really made it easier to get over nerves the day of the test. These classes were worth every penny! I just went home with my license today. Thanks for helping me accomplish this big goal! -Adult Driving, 6-Hour Package, February 2025 -Des Moines Location

Negative experience: Our experience was several years ago so it may not be relevant to the current staffing. Our son was enrolled with Street Smarts and went through the entire program. He would come home after the on the road instruction and tell us that he didn't get to drive more than a few minutes because the other students needed more instruction. There was never any indication that he was having problems in class. He seemed to understand the content being taught. His actual drive times were not even close to 30 hours. We would then drive with him for more practice. He would drive with us and seemed to have a good grasp of driving and the laws. When we picked him up on the last day, the day of the final drive test he was destroyed because his instructor stopped the test after one mistake. Literally, told him to pull over get out and took over. No instruction or explanation why he had failed. He said everything had been going fine until that moment. The only thing she said was you must have a 100% to pass. No mistakes. He said the rest of the drive was really awkward and quiet. She refused to tell him what the reason for his failure was. I called the next day to ask what his mistake was and would he get a retake. The answer was no he would not get a retake or anymore instruction and they would have to get back to me because they did not have that instructors records for their particular students. Why don't they keep the records for all the students at the school. It took several weeks and many more calls for me to reach the instructor and was angry with me and very curt. She couldn't remember why he failed and said she would have to call me back when she found the test. She did not call me back and I finally got a hold of some supervisor who called me back and said he had pulled up to a stop sign behind a car stopped, but then proceeded to pull out with out stopping after the car in front had pulled out. I agreed that was a mistake but to outright fail someone. Especially, someone they were responsible for teaching such skills. I asked did he hit anyone or almost and she said no. I asked if he looked both ways and she couldn't remember. There were no debriefings, follow up instruction, or review. Just you fail you are done with the course. $400 down the drain. We ended up having to instruct him ourselves and take him to the DMV where he passed just fine. I wonder if this is typical for most schools. Lesson learned. We use Safetodriveiowa.com for parent taught drivers ed. $70

Fantastic experience: Amazing experience with smart street driving class, coming from different country is hard to get familiar with rules and regulations but instructor is so good, he help you with each and every lesson of driving, you just need good confidence to drive rest of it they help you. Great experience thank to help getting me my driving license.

Fantastic experience: bro my instructor mr Olu was so nice and something he said to me and the other girl fr stuck with me he said something like live life with alot of zest and grit and surround yourself with people who are good and i think about that sometimes even though he taught me like a month or two ago. and my parents really liked him. even though it was 5 stars i give him 10 stars

Negative experience: Recomendación busquen otra escuela. Se supone que está gente deben ser amables y cordiales y no lo son y lo otro es que si estás pagando un servicio imagino que es para enseñar y en la primera reunión me dijeron que la persona debe saber más o menos conducir para poder tomar el auto entonces cuál es la gracia deberían compartir conmigo el pago ya que tuve que darle clases a mi hija para que ella pudiera usas esta escuela. Es simple existen otras y a medida que ellos vean que tienen menos clientes les tocará corregir para volver a ganar gente. Mi hija está en Altoona pero la empresa es la misma. Todo esto te lo dicen después del pago y la última perla la escuela no te sirve para evadir el examen de manejo del DOT cuando llegamos al DOT supuestamente a convertir el permiso temporal en licencia de conducción hubo que hacer el exámenes de manejo entonces para que pague si tuve que darle clases a mi hija y además todo lo demás fue igual que cualquier cristiano. ES UNA ESTAFA TOTAL….

Negative experience: Failed my son on the drive test and did not offer a retest. just took my money with no explanation,

Negative experience: They say they don't tech the kids to drive. That we should have . They say they will fail if we didn't then why pay them? Trash company don't pay them

Fantastic experience: I had a driving instructor named George and it was better than I could have imagined! He was extremely patient and taught me so much while insuring I had fun. Definitely recommend if you need a Drivers Ed course to complete.

Fantastic experience: Very happy with my sons instructor Jim!

Fantastic experience: Terri, my instructor was very patient and instructivr in our drives. He provided a lot of practical advice during our drives in the snow. Along with this, he was a great guy to chat to, making the experience a lot better.

Fantastic experience: I would love to thank Steet Smart for the help they provided my daughter with getting the confidence needed to drive. Her instructor was Terry Janssen; he not only got her confidence levels up, but he also installed a love for driving within her. My daughter had driven a few times in inner roads/parking lots, yet with the help of Terry she was able to confidently drive on the interstate and downtown. In a matter of days, I was able to see growth within her. My daughter told me that Terry made driving fun, had lots of tips, and made sure his students understood the responsibilities they have on the road. Once agin, thank you Street Smart/Terry for ensuring that our roads will remain safe.

Negative experience: After finishing the classes. The tutor said I was finished. When my dad took me to the DOT. They told me I still had to watch 30 hours videos. Why can’t the certified teacher tell the student the correct information because I had to go back and watch the videos and then return. It caused my father, another day off work . They need to train the tutors better.

Negative experience: I have been driving since I was 14 and I have watched someone who has one of your cars, not stop at a STOP sign, and this is the people who are teaching others to drive,no wonder theirs so many wrecks they are taught to not stop, so cool, I don't feel safe on my motorcycle

Negative experience: The materials they provide are disorganized and hard to read— three or four different fonts in every document, with cramped spacing and weird highlights all over the place. As far as the teaching portion— I feel like paying so much money for a mere online course plus just 6 hours of drive time is kind of a joke. Back in my day, it was cheaper, AND you got real instruction instead of just a list of dumb videos to watch at home. Plus, they tell you that the parent has to drive for 20 hours with the child, in addition to the program they offer. I am working, I have heart issues that are exacerbated by anxiety, and I paid for this program so I wouldn't have to put myself through that. I did not know up front that they would not provide ALL of the education necessary. When I was a teen, driver's ed covered everything. They don't let you schedule drive times that are convenient. They post their drive time options just a few days before it starts, and then expect you to respond within an hour before all the slots are taken. And then when we did get the schedule, the instructor kept changing it. Did you know that some parents have to work? Did you know that there's a lot going on in life? A constantly changing schedule, especially at the last minute, is kind of a nightmare. Driving instructor was rude, grumpy, and uncommunicative. (Hey SS, maybe pay your workers better? You might attract better talent?) He showed up late and left early every single day. I did not feel like my kid was safe with him, since he gave the attitude that he'd rather be anywhere but here. I'm going to contact the school district and recommend they find a different company to contract with. This business is poorly run.

Negative experience: This is the second child I have sent through the program. My son went through no problems. My daughter though had a far different experience. Received no feedback from the instructor during the driving portion, and only found out at the end what my daughter needed to work on. The owner decided that the carbon copy feedback sheets that were sent home with my son were to expensive so they stopped doing it. So when I called the office to complain the instructor lied and said he had given feedback. But now that nothing gets written down and sent home...there is no proof. I would recommend looking at other options this this company.

Fantastic experience: Overall great experience!

Negative experience: Very disappointed in this company. I signed my son up in July of 2022 and was concerned about time slots for his classes, so I called the office who assured me that they would work around our schedule to assign him weekend times. Roxanna, the instructor called me 6 days before our first assigned lesson in October (3 months after I had reserved a spot). She had only one time available and when I let her know it wouldn’t work for us, her blunt and rudely phrased words were “I work a full time job, I don’t have time to figure out my schedule around all of this”. After I spoke with who I assume is the director, she told me I couldn’t cancel or move to a different class without paying a FIFTY DOLLAR cancellation/reschedule fee. I’ve put in a claim with my bank. This company is a bait and switch. STAY AWAY.

Negative experience: I have had two kids take driving lessons from Street Smarts. Both times it was an unorganized mess. You sign up for blocks of time to drive but they change your times without telling you. The people in the office are rude and unhelpful. It is fairly expensive, and I would expect a better service. If there are any other options in your area, I suggest you try them. We had no other options. On the positive, the instructor was very nice and knowledgeable. He was understanding and rolled with the punches.

Fantastic experience: I completed the six hour driving course with Instructor named Mallory. He is incredibly nice and friendly person, along with excellent driving instructions. The driving routes were carefully organized and structured to cover all possible scenarios that can be encountered while driving, including highway driving and parking practices. I gained lot of driving confidence with him. I definitely recommend him. Thank you Mallory!

Negative experience: Our daughter’s instructor was amazing. Patient, kind, constructive criticism. Very knowledgeable and helpful! Lori you are the best! They are lucky to have you!!!!! Five stars for you!!!! Whoever answers the phone, office person-woman is a two star. She had an attitude. She did end up helping me so I appreciate that but I feel she could have handled the situation a lot better. The WHOLE attitude of everything would have changed with one little phrase: let me try to help you. Instead of trying to reprimand me or trying to blame my daughter for their misinformation. Just to put yourself in my shoes and be kind. It was literally a few clicks on your end- the end. Even the DMV worker said it does not take 15 days for them to send over the information. It’s a few clicks. So all that could have been avoided with let me try to help you or I will help you.

Fantastic experience: I completed the Street Smarts driving course with instructor Chris Drake earlier this year. He was incredibly patient with me even when I was nervous and consistently gave me constructive feedback that has helped me with my driving even after finishing the course. He was also punctual and had a structured plan of our routes and breaks. Even though me and my other driving partner had to drive in snowy conditions for our final test, he did a great job of navigating the both of us and getting us back safe. From my successful experience, I highly recommend this course and specifically Chris Drake, especially with nervous or inexperienced drivers.

Fantastic experience: Chris Drake was the instructor for my daughter and I am very thankful she had him! She felt very confident in her driving by the time her class was done and she has done great now that she’s on her own. I will definitely send my son to him!

Fantastic experience: I loved my experience at Street Smarts! Jenny was my instructor and she was very professional and gave me a great advice on how to drive safely. The cars were in great condition and overall I had a very good time!

Fantastic experience: My daughter recently completed her Street Smarts driving course with instructor Chris Drake. Chris was accommodating, caring, and shared his critiques with my daughter without being overly critical. Chris also recently taught both of my nieces to drive, and they literally had no driving experience. My sister and brother-in-law specifically told us to ask for Chris when my daughter’s drive times opened up due to their positive experience and we are really glad that we did. Thank you Chris! We really appreciate you!

Negative experience: Disappointed with Street Smarts. They need to be more understanding with issues. They only let you complete 3 online classes per day. We pay for the class, an insane amount btw, he should get to complete the classes when HE is able....it’s online so it shouldn’t be a big deal. But they will make to pay MORE money if you have any kind of issue that results in one of the classes getting submitted past midnight. Such a joke. Not to mention they are required to wear a mask, but the instructor didn’t?? He was always stopping for food and eating/drinking during the drive time. He can’t go 2 hours without eating I suggest looking into driving with cops. We have a couple more yet to go thru drivers ed....will NOT use Street Smarts again. Ugh.

Fantastic experience: I took the 6 hour course plus an extra hour of practice before the road test. My instructor Scott Omvig was fantastic! He is very personable, patient and encouraging, which helped me feel comfortable and gain confidence. He is very knowledgeable, and teaches in a way that is easy to understand. He not only focused on me just passing the test, but also taught me the skills to be a safe driver. Thank you so much for helping me get my license!

Negative experience: Parents proceed with caution. It is atypical for me to write these type of reviews, but I do so with the intent for parents to be aware of what they are buying. 1. No refunds or discount provided even if they cannot provide you with quality. 2. Driver instructors are falling asleep during the drive time. 3. Poor communication between instructors and administration. 4. Poor communication between instructors and DOT. 5. Limited understanding of how DOT currently functions during COVID. 6. Vague promises of making things better without concrete plan.

Negative experience: I followed car 83 a Hyundai elantra. And from 120 and Center to 108th and L, in Omaha. He was by himself and on his phone and all over the road! Unless he was drunk!

Negative experience: We were signed up for the June 1-12 class. Since the class went online due to Covid I contacted them ahead of that date to be sure my son would get the paid 6 hours driving time in before August as we are not available that month...was told yes. It is now July 13 and although I’m following up weekly, we have not heard from a driving instructor and they refuse to provide any contact info to us so we can call and schedule directly. Also...be sure to check out their “educational” video on how to make beer and what different wood barrels are used to make different types of liquor. The only question that test asked was how long have people in America have been drinking alcohol!?

Fantastic experience: Great place for kids to learn how to drive safely. Nice instructors and clean cars.

Negative experience: My son took this course last fall, the class room time was ok teacher was knowledgeable and helpful. Then came drive times, During the drive the instructor was constantly stopping for food. To the point my son had to ask him multiple times to move the half gallon of milk so he could put the car in gear! Hi instructions included “turn up at the house with the mailbox”. And then got angry when my son didn’t choose the right mailbox. Then to top it off the test time was 9 pm! So it was very dark and it was snowing heavy (we hadn’t had any snow so the kids had not had experience in snow). He then docked the kids points for driving UNDER the speed limit IN a snow storm! Needless to say it was the most ludicrous thing I had ever experienced. My daughter had the same instructor a couple years prior and after my son voiced his frustration she also told similar horror stories. Maybe street smarts should drive more with their teachers

Fantastic experience: i LOVED my drivers ed experience !! my instructor was mr. brown, he is super funny and made the class so easy to learn. i am glad to have had him as a teacher and am thankful for my drive times i had with him as well - filled with carpool karaoke and discussions of why he should like taylor swift, but overall it was a great experience and i would totally recommend everyone to take drivers ed through street smarts and hopefully have mr. brown as the teacher :)

Positive experience: I recently took classes through them. Scott was my trainer. I shared details about how much experience I have as a novice driver and the inhibitions and areas that need improvement. Scott monitored me in local roads on the first day and taught me a Freeway class on the second day. He was calm and friendly in teaching and giving instructions as I drove. He shared inputs about what could be done better and what I was doing good. That sort of boosted my confidence. I have slowly started driving with more confidence and hoping to be a good driver soon. The other helpful part with these folks is that they pick and drop you at your own address. They charged $75 per 1 hr class.

Fantastic experience: Friendly, knowledgeable staff and instructors. Great job working with kids no matter their confidence level. I appreciate them taking on the responsibility to teach these kids. Summer program is shorter (fewer weeks not hours) which is convenient but really ramps up how fast they go from parking lot to freeway.

Negative experience: Extremely Unorganized instructors!!!

Negative experience: My daughter had a very bad experience here. I believe things have changed a lot through the years, as my other 2 kids that took here didn’t have such stories to tell. Each night after class I was hearing about things the instructor would say to the class and my daughter was very stressed by it. Many of the things he would say seemed inappropriate. The teacher was scary regimented and even admitted to the class he was an “a...hole” and laughed and sad what can I say? In particular, the cell phone issue. The kids are used to having their phones at school, etc., so not touching their phones through the 3 hour class is difficult. We had a family member in ICU and a few other issues going on and my daughter got in trouble for checking her phone. I believe she was labeled as “one of those kids” from the beginning. My daughter felt that the teacher would overlook other kids fumbling with their phone, but was always on her about hers. The final day she got into trouble, earlier that day she was a victim of a bullying incident from a girl in the driver’s ed class. It was serious and my daughter was upset going into class, as the girl sat behind her. My daughter quickly clicked on her phone during class (like many other kids) and the teacher, in front of the entire class, took her phone and stamped her sheet stating she now had to take the driving test with the DOT. Given the bullying incident earlier, my daughter didn’t handle it very well. She was feeling like it was coming from all directions at this point. The teacher and her came to my car when I picked her up and he told me about the phone trouble. My daughter was in tears and was trying to get him to change his mind about the driving test. This was her worst nightmare having to take that test. I also tried to talk to him, but he really could not “hear” what I was saying and had little compassion. My daughter ended up getting in the car and did say to me “He’s such an a-hole”. This was loud enough that he heard. Needless to say she was kicked out of driver’s ed and we were told she isn’t welcomed there. I asked for a refund and was told no. The management said that my daughter was verbally abusive. That’s our story. My daughter was at fault in the end. Just letting you all know our experience. I think part of the negatives with them are they are a monopoly here so know you have your hands tied and that it’s difficult to find quality instructors. I honestly believe that both the classroom and driving instructor had a personality disorder or were odd to say the least. My other mom friend had unfriendly dealings with the driving instructor as well. I can tell you the head lady, when I called to try and move her to a different instructor for the last two classes, would not consider my daughter’s side of the story and only supported the teacher. I understand her comment at the end was inappropriate, but I honestly understood her frustration. I think it’s primarily a money making operation that could give two hoots about our kids. FYI: Two of the 5 star reviews below are bogus. Street Smarts gives one, and the owner James Meinecke gives the other. So really, their composite score would be much lower which comes out to 2.43 when you remove those two reviews.

Negative experience: The cost of drivers ed is ridiculously expensive! What a rip-off!! Should be a course offered at school. Just another way to isolate those that can afford and those that cannot!

Positive experience: Update. .After speaking with someone more knowledgable and accommodating, we were helped. Thank you. Original post. ..Go with Driving with Cops. There are many things they don't disclose until after you've paid. Like you can only miss 2 days or you're kicked out without a refund. Some times life happens and when I pay $350 for a service, they should be more accommodating.also a $25 fee when changing drive times. Please keep in mind I'm not necessarily upset they have these policies, I'm upset that they don't disclose this any many other things prior to one paying the registration fee. They have a low star rating for a reason.

Negative experience: My son just completed their program. The instructor in the class room was very great, however, the person whom he drove with was extremely rude. Dwayne I believe his name was. My son signed up for a time that worked for us and the driving instructor kept changing it without notice. Even made him drive on a day he did not have his permit simply because he didn't want to stay for the scheduled time. Also there was one time we need to change the time because of problems with another student (which he signed up to NOT drive with) and I had to pay the $25.00 and the driving instructor wanted to kick him out of the class all together which is not procedure. He also texted and played on his phone most of the time he was driving with my son. When it's time for my youngest to take drivers ed we will definitely use Drive with Cops instead!!!

Fantastic experience: Both my sons went through the program recently in Newton and I can tell you the teaching was great and the behind the wheel was better. Mr. B did all types of drives with them, even first time on the interstate. Great program for Newton and the area.

Negative experience: So after my expierence today I had to leave this review. I can't speak for for this business treats its customers or if they do a good job teaching as I have never done business with them. I can tell you that today while driving on interstate in Omaha , Ne I was almost hit and had to swerve off the road to avoid one of there drivers from hitting me. I just thought the fact that this is a man that is suppose to be instructing others how to drive was worth posting about. White Impala Iowa tags Car number 114

Fantastic experience: Wealth of knowledge