Great teachers! Responsive to the zoom chat and helpful! Can definitely work on repeating some of the answers to students' questions when someone asks the same question again because often times it's hard to catch everything that they say. But overall great teachers and very knowledgeable! read more

Don't waste your time. We had a terrible experience here. They are totally unorganized. They seem to be unable to update things into their computer systems and maintain any semblance of service. My son passed his written driving test only to have them not record it, and contact us to retake it for MORE money, what? We are now leaving the WA state Department of licensing (after wasting an hour driving to/from an appointment to get his actual license) because Defensive Driving School Mercer Island didn't enter his final driving score into their database !! Therefore we went all the way to get his license and couldn't get it because , this shady business couldn't enter his final score a full WEEK after he took his driving test and the department of licensing had no record of him passing. What a waste of our time and money!!!! read more

This was a awesome class! I just finished the teen course, instructor Jason Pierce is THE BEST! Super funny and a very engaging teacher. Highly recommend this school and course and especially Mr. Pierce. read more

Horrible. Bad. Willow? Willa? Whatever her name is -- just BAD. She can't communicate worth a dime. Angry woman who also lies about stuff. Claimed my son called in and said he was rude to her-- he never called in the first place. Gaslighting at its finest! She also wouldn't tell him what he did wrong during a test. Just told him to drive back and that the "test was done". Couldn't tell him why he couldn't continue and gave no reason for the "failure". I give this woman an F minus for being a horrible teacher: time for this woman to be put out to pasture. Later days lady. read more

Do not waste your money to take test at this driving school! If you have not taken lessons at this location, they will fail you for sure. I took the test here and with a warm-up lesson. I have actually being driving for years in LA and the only reason for me to take the test is because I did not change it to WA license before my CA license expired. The instructor, Akmal took off points arbitrarily, including in categories like General driving - Attention, vision and keeping distance. For the record, I was focusing on the road the entire time and turning my head to check blind spot so just to be visible to the instructor. The instructor did not give comment on any mistakes I made during or after the test. He conveniently set the points at 75. He even went back to deduct more points just to ensure it's below the 80 mark. When I asked him to explain the scoring he flat out refused. A friend of mine had a similar experience in testing passed after he took 6 lessons. This is how they scam you for money. If you do not take lessons here, your will not pass. I'm filing a complaint to DOL. For the meantime, do not waste your money at this school. Link to file complaint: https://www.dol.wa.gov/business/drivertraining/dtcomplaint.html read more

Defensive Driving School - Driving Schools Near Me - Mercer Island, Washington

Horrible experience....they will fail your child Over and Over just to collect more fees!! I've driven everywhere with my child and have no problems, yet on the test deduct unnecessary points just to collect more fees!!!! Avoid at all costs!! Willow, Steve....all complete garbage. read more

The cars are so old and in such poor working order that the brakes don't even work and it will shudder and require hard pumping to make them stop. The instructors constantly apologize for how bad the cars are and will warn "sorry, this car doesn't brake." "Watch out the steering is rickety". read more

Don't register your child here. They do not care about the kid, just their bottom line. My kid was late to class, and even though the instructor was still there, she refused to give the lesson for the remainder of the class , but insisted we have to pay for the class again, and left. When contacted, the company doesn't really care, they just want their money. I am bringing my next kid somewhere else next year. Terrible customer service. Rude instructors and staff. Wouldn't recommend to any parents read more

I watched an older female instructor with a student hit a parked car in the parking lot. They continued practicing driving in this very busy lot and did not stop to leave their information and notify the owner they hit their car. When I confronted the instructor she said they looked at the car and only hit the license plate. The student driver vehicle rubbed the parked car for two feet going backward and forward. Not a great example to set not a good place to practice driving with a student who obviously had little to no driving experience. read more

Worst experience here for my daughter. She took her course in Issaquah originally, but took 5 additional private sessions here in Mercer Island to prepare for getting her license before leaving for college. The woman who was her instructor (who let us know in the first 5 minutes that she had been a driving instructor for 40 years) was such a disappointment. Her actual teaching demeanor lacked in communication and clarity and then she was harsh, rude, and unkind if she was asked to clarify or repeat. After my daughter finished the process and passed her driving test, I called for instructions to obtain the license and provided some feedback regarding this experience. They couldn't have cared less and said this instructor is their only one due to covid. So, there you go, enroll at your own risk. read more

I took the knowledge and driving tests with Defensive Driving school. I used their online learning materials to study for the knowledge test. The pricing was affordable and it easy to book appointments with them online. The employees I interacted with were really nice and helpful. Overall I had a great experience, and I would recommend them to anyone. read more

Just thought I would update everyone here that after I took my drive test here and the rude tall curly blonde hair guy failed me, I went to the DOL in Bellevue two days after and passed with a 96%. I also called Defensive to complain about the experience I had and the guy on the phone could care less. My friend also happened to take a test here and heard that this guy is literally known as the "failer" cause all he does is fail people when he works. Don't ever take your test here unless you want to waste your money. Why is this place still a business again? read more

The teachers are condescending and the learning environment is toxic. Their cancellation policy is not the same as the one they post online, if you get sick they'll just take your money. read more

What can I say I LOVE SWERVE! My daughter was so nervous and the teachers took such good care of her high anxiety and were so kind. It made this mama feel so much better about her on the road:) Teachers are well trained and highly knowledgeable! HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND SWERVE! Come on "GET YOUR SWERVE ON"! read more

TERRIBLE DRIVING SCHOOL. THIS IS FOR THE COMPANY as a WHOLE and the Mercer Island Location. My Husband, who is from England, has been trying to get his testing (knowledge and drive) completed through Defensive Driving School for almost 2 months now. They NEVER answer the phone. After 2 weeks he was able to get in contact with someone and scheduled his knowledge test. It was at a dumpy old school in the U district, smelling of urine, and the instructor was insanely rude and lazy. Now he is trying to make an appointment for his drive test which has already been paid for and cannot get in contact with anyone. He has called probably 5 times a day for multiple weeks and has even stopped by the Mercer Island office only to find it closed 3 times. He has left multiple voicemails. They have called back ONCE and didn't even address any of his questions. He has tried emailing multiple times as well and finally got a time offered for the test. When he emailed back an hour later to confirm they said nope, its been filled we'll have to call you back. I'm sure we'll never get an appointment. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY. We will be using another service. read more

The instructor, Albert Cvitic, is phenomenal. Great learning and lessons, he is well knowledgable and he also brings fun into the class! Thanks! read more

This place sucks. I was a student at the Seattle location and I had Brian, and don't get me wrong he is pretty chill. He was nice and was a great teacher. When I went to my very final driving test I had to go to the Mercer location. This woman named Michelle was a very nasty woman. She was so rude and when I walked out made nasty remarks and treated me as if I was 5. I believed I did very well on the test but this holligan failed me??? I honestly think she has a sense of satisfaction by failing people. I would not recommend this school and especially that thing you call a woman Michelle. She is nasty and most likely unmarried. This lady needs to pop a Xanax. read more

Matt is awesome! He road tested both of my kids. He is a calming influence and very professional.

I highly recommend defensive driving school. Michelle taught my class and did most of my drives, and is highly competent and patient. Seriously nothing phased her, cool and calm yet encouraging. I also had German for some of my drives, and he was kind and really knows his stuff. I learned from both teachers, and overall the school is capable. My only complaint would be the website links sometimes do not work, but as far as teaching goes I have no complaints and I would recommend this school read more

Steer clear of defensive driving school! After being assured they would accommodate my daughters learning disabilities before we enrolled her the refused to do so when she showed up for class. It was a waste of time, money, and caused a significant amount of stress. My daughter was discouraged, demoralized, and intimidated by her instructors; in class and behind the wheel. We ultimately took her to a different driving school where they gladly accommodated her needs, and cleaned up the mess that Defensive Driving caused. Another problem is their phone system, they never answer it, and after long waits on hold you redirected to an answering machine where your messages aren't returned. Don't waste your time and money. read more

both my kids went through this program and found both the classroom instructors and driving instructors friendly, approachable and very knowledgeable . The on-line scheduling system was super easy to navigate and use and the administrative office staff were always willing to answer questions and guide us through any questions they or I had. read more

I had Michelle for my class, and I learned a lot through her. She was very informative and let us take breaks and walk to Rite Aid. She went through everything pretty thoroughly and in a good amount of time. I only wish we could've taken the WA State written test on the last day of class like I hear Swerve does. This would've been nice to check off and not worry about separately. As for drives, they did not go as well. For one or two of my drives, I had Matt,and he was awesome. If you have the option, request him! For the majority of my other drives, I had Albert. He had a weird sense of rude sarcasm and personality, so my drives were kind of uncomfortable with him. He also made me stop at Tully's to get him coffee for at least two of my drives. Not only was this a waste of my time, but this also wasted time I could've been learning and improving my skills. If you have Albert as a drive instructor, try to request someone else. These were the only two instructors I remember having. All in all, Defensive was a good program, only apart from Albert. I also did the separate Skid Training, and although this was helpful, I feel it may have been overpriced. read more