Horrible experience! Paid almost 2k for 20 hours of driving lessons and still i failed the test 4 times. I dont know if this company is a scam, i’ve heard from other people that their retest rate was pretty high. After failing twice at the Boulder location, they made me retake the test at a different branch, and the instructor at that location even apologized on behalf of the Boulder branch, saying how they should have done a better job at my lessons. My decision to enroll here was the worst thing for my driving skills, do NOT recommend!
MM
Michael M.
DriveSafe feels like a state run scam
I am not sure how a private instructing business became the only way to take a driving test in Arapahoe county CO. through the DMV website. It is definitely a conflict of interest for citizens considering they charge about $100 per test. Out of eight people/students that came in for a test, seven were re tests. What happened to drive tests at the Colorado DMV? My daughter was failed for two uncommon things. They told her on a right turn, you have to drive in the bike lane then move into the traffic lane. Maybe someone could explain to me how driving in the bike lane is OK or safe when there is an entire lane for cars?
The other was not checking your rear view mirror at every single intersection to make sure no one is tailgating you. They did not allow the parent or guardian to be present when explaining the failure or driving test debrief. I was just required to collect payment for another retest. She was also told by the tester in front of me, "I could have let you pass". Why even say something like that?! That is just frustrating. Other parents I talked to in the waiting area had similar experiences on their students first tests. Please be aware, dealing with them feels like a complete scam. Because it is. A scam encouraged by the state of Colorado. Best of luck!
ML
M.L.
Online course is MISERABLE
The drivers training online course is absolutely miserable to try to use. The content is excellent , but the platform has so many issues that we have spent WAY too much time trying to get my daughter through the program ( hear more than 30 hours). At times of high usage, the program will lock up and be unusable. We’ve had issues with time in the program not saving ( even when we clear the history which you have to do each time).She is down to the last 5 hours, but I will never use this program again with my younger children.
RG
Ratna G.
The drivers are all great but OMG…
The drivers are all great and some employees but OMG scheduling is a nightmare! Occasionally, you will get a competent person on the line but it is a total crap shoot. We used a different drive school for our other daughter and it cost less and we got all the dates we wanted. This place- oy! What a tough time to just schedule in-person drives let alone the test.
ST
Spencer T.
These are expensive classes and during…
These are expensive classes and during their driving training they do not cover driving rules/regulations that they test kids on during their driving tests. Not having that background is enough for the same instructors to fail kids on their driving tests. (This is specific to how to use pull out lanes with adjacent bike lanes--which is either not that important because no one actually uses them as designed or of the upmost importance because the testers engage them multiple times so that they become an auto fail if not done correctly.) They provide cars with poor traction and then automatically fail tests if there is any tire slippage when accelerating from stops on snowy roads and they do not allow the use of cars with appropriate traction. Finally, the staff tried to point us to walk in testing at their other school based centers and these centers do not actually provide that service.
If the goal is to examine if kids have the skills to be safe on the road they are focusing on the wrong points. If the goal is to milk money from a system where they take advantage of state mandates, they are doing a great job.
Response from DriveSafe Driving SchoolsApr 12, 2023
Hi Spencer, thank you for sharing your feedback with us.
DriveSafe’s curriculum is regularly updated with Colorado driving laws, and best-practice techniques, that meet state driving requirements in both our Driver’s Education classes and our Behind-the-Wheel lessons. We see your son completed 30 classroom hours and 6 behind-the-wheel hours before his license test. We can confirm that the rules and skills you mention are covered in our curriculum, and all our courses meet State Requirements.
The Drive Test route is designed and certified by the state department and requires our DriveSafe instructors to report on a stringent set of standards. Your son did not pass due to 23 skill standard violations, 3 traffic law violations, and a serious action. Each of these totals alone result in an automatic failure. For training and reviewing purposes, DriveSafe does record students’ test drives, and we’d be more than happy to review the video with you and your son for any further clarification.
We acknowledge that correct use of lanes (specifically when bike lanes are present) is imperative for safety. While we agree that sadly many drivers do not share the road correctly, it is still our responsibility to teach and report on these standards that are set forth by the state. They are designed this way to help students understand how to drive more safely, in the interest of themselves and others who share the road. There have been multiple updates to bike lane laws in Colorado in the last few years, in response to few roadway users abiding to safety precautions, thus the importance for the state and our certified instructors to teach, test, and reinforce the importance of such laws.
Regarding your comment on vehicle traction: while we do not use 4WD vehicles for our drive test appointments, we do adhere to a strict maintenance policy which includes having optimal tire tread depth and pressure. As previously mentioned, drive test standards, as set by the state, do deem a slip, spin, or slide of the tires as an automatic failure as it is a serious action if the driver loses control of the vehicle. We can understand your frustration with this rule given the season, however, your son failed for other reasons not just related to this standard.
Regarding your comment on walk-in testing, we apologize if there was a misunderstanding. Our team mentioned that DMV walk-ins are not in effect except for one of the south DMV offices.
Lastly, our company’s mission is to help meet your son’s driving needs, whether that is taking another test, or encouraging you to shop for services elsewhere. Our interest is aligned with students passing, but even more so, with everyone's safety on the road. We respect we may have differences in opinion, but regardless, we wish you and your son a lifetime of safe driving.
AL
Allie
Inconsistency in the instructors
Inconsistency in the instructors. My daughter didn't know what wad expected of her to pass the driving test which led to her failing the first time.
Response from DriveSafe Driving SchoolsDec 2, 2022
Hi Allie, thank you for sharing your feedback. We do try to instruct our students based on their level of experience which can differ with each student. With that however, it is not our intention to create confusion, and we apologize for the conflicting advice that contributed to your daughter’s first fail. As this gets brought to our attention, we implement retraining with our instructors. We wish you and your daughter the best.
CU
Customer
Room for Improvement
Drivers test vehicle had engine trouble. A bunch of kids in the lobby taking their permit test, very cramped & distracting environment for them. Inconsistent feedback from staff.
Wish I’d looked deeper into my options, as this was not a good experience and I feel taken advantage of.
Response from DriveSafe Driving SchoolsOct 31, 2022
Hi, thank you for your honest feedback. We apologize that the testing environment was not as suitable as we typically strive for. In an effort to understand as to why you felt taken advantage of, would you be willing to reach out to our [email protected] email with the subject line [TrustPilot Review + Your Name ] so we can better learn how to resolve this? Thank you
LM
LMB
Don't Trust Them to Get it Right
My student enjoyed the class work (as much as the curriculum allows) and certainly enjoyed the instructor. However, when it came time to pick up the permit at the DMV, we spent OVER 2 HOURS trying to find her record because her name was spelled correctly on her DMV confirmation page was correct, but what they sent the DMV had two letters flipped in her name (according to the DMV). So, some of this may have been the DMV's fault (can't tell) but DriveSafe would not let the DMV clerk speak directly with the person who could check or correct her record--again, FOR OVER 2 HOURS! The processes at both organizations are terrible (and, yes, I've put in a complaint with the CDOR DMV), but I will never trust DriveSafe to get it right again.
