Erik has taught 2 of my kids. Erik is an expert at teaching driving and it's clear he has been doing it a long time. He asks that a parent attend the instruction, so I witnessed how he delivers information. He is not there to entertain. He is there to do everything in his power to turn your kid into a safe and confident driver and to pass their test. His delivery is so the information sticks and it's incredible to watch my kids learn from him. I highly recommend his services! read more

I spoke with Erik after reviewing his website and Yelp. I saw comments about his attitude, but decided to give him a chance due to price. After mentioning the free class he said he needs to take that down from site because he doesn't do it anymore. He then started talking over me and before I could explain I wanted to sign up for the 6 hour package anyway, he hung up the phone on me. Lol this man is cheap for a reason and appears to lack social skills. If you can bear it for the price- sign up! read more

I have been meaning to write this review for a while now. DO NOT GO TO ERIKS DRIVING SCHOOL!! Although I managed to pass my drivers test it was not through Erik's teaching. Erik is supposed to be a professional teacher yet I learned more from my dad then from Erik during his lessons. His lessons were very unproductive as I hardly learned anything from them. He offers no positive reinforcement and whenever you do something wrong he calls you out and says that it would be any instant fail on the drivers test. Even though he is a teacher he asks you questions as if you are supposed to know them when he should be the one teaching you. For example my first ever lesson with him was the first time I was in a car and I even mentioned that to him. He didn't tell me where any of the controls were and just put me on the road immediately. My brother had him about 3 years before me and he felt the exact same way about him. Definitely don't go to his driving school even though it is cheaper. You should find and research a more reliable driving school even if it's more expensive because you will have a way better learning experience. read more

First off this is a small business. Erik does the best he can to fit everyone's schedule. He certainly charges a lot less than some of these other companies but most importantly he will teach your kid how to drive safely. He offers the parents to come along for the lesson so I have no clue where people are saying he bad mouths the student drivers. My son passed and is now licensed. Give this guy a try and be positive and you will get good results. read more

I am just curious. I took Erik's classes before and passed the driving test. He's great. But one time when we went to the DMV for my driving test, we fall in line and when it was our turn, he handed his driver's license to the clerk. When the clerk lady gave the license back to Erik, she glanced at it again and said WOW!!!! I asked Erik what is it that she saw written on his drivers license but he never told me. I was thinking it was his picture but it can't be the picture. Maybe the donor sign? Nah. Almost everybody has that. I was thinking he has no accidents or points in his license for the last 30 years. But Im not sure. If you read this review, squeeze him out of it and let me know. Thanks and Good luck to your test. I Lova Lova Erik's Driving School!! read more

Erik is insightful as well as heavily aware of all laws and regulations for California driving. He also has a great sense of humor

I have been meaning to write a review on Erik's driving school for a long time. The experience I had with Erik has been traumatizing. When I first started learning with Erik, I immediately noticed some red flags. Erik was arrogant, annoying, and extremely condescending. At the beginning I tried to look past Erik's bullshit, and I thought just trying to be a strict teacher. As a began to understand Erik through our meaningful sessions, I learned that Eric was a pessimistic narcissistic dick. Eric would feel the need to show off to me that he was a "great driver". He would constantly belittle everything I did, and would even insult me a few times. Erik asked me at our first lesson what my high school GPA was. I told Erik what my GPA was, and after that he would refer to me by my GPA anytime I made a mistake in the car, granted I was a new driver but I did not deserve to be disrespected for making a mistake. Every little thing I did wrong he would make a sarcastic comment, "4.4 GPA but does not know how to drive".Erik would laugh in my face when I made a mistake. I am 18 and Erik is over 55, let that sink in. Erik did not use any positive reinforcement, and would constantly blurt out "instant fail on the drive test". Erik is also the most negative human being that I have ever met. The man would insult other drivers on the road, calling them clowns and morons. Some of which had not done nothing but be in a BMW, which he hates for some fucking reason. Everytime the lesson ended he would come home and tell my dad how much of a piece of crap I was at driving. I would be in a bad mood every time the lesson ended. My dad eventually bought other lessons with a much superior driving school, Drivers Ed Direct, and both my dad and I wanted to see what the experience and feedback was from the new driving instructor. The new driving instructor from Drivers Ed Direct was a very positive guy and I had a great experience driving with him. I could talk to my new instructor and we had a some nice conversations. I could not really have conversation with Erik due to his narcissistic personality, I mean who would want to have a conversation with someone who belittles you and laughs in your face. Along with being dick, Erik was not a good teacher. There is one specific incident that comes to mind when I think of Erik's inability to teach. I was freeway driving, still a rookie at it, and I stopped at the red light going into the freeway entrance, Erik blurts out "instant fail" for the 20th time in our session, and he said that I did not need to stop and that I should have kept accelerating onto the freeway. I later do the exact same thing he told me to do, that being pass the red light and just accelerate onto the freeway. Erik then again say his famous line, "instant fail". I then asked him why I could not accelerate onto the freeway like he had told me before to. He then says, The other one is a diamond lane. I, being a new driver, asked him what is a diamond lane. Erik, my driving TEACHER, tells me to "look it up or ask your dad". An opportunity for a teaching moment, and instead Erik finds a way to put me down and make me feel like shit. Erik's driving school ruined my experience of learning how to drive. Erik is not fit to be in a car with any child learning how to drive, nor is he fit to run a business based on the way he treats his customers. I genuinely get filled with rage when I think of the experience I had with this schmuck, please do not give this man your business. Only give him your business if you want to ruin your child's experience of learning how to drive. read more

I would say do not use this school. The owner, Erik, is really bad at what he does. I bought 10 hours for 500 dollars for my child. Literally, like a fool, I thought it was a good deal, but I had to switch companies 6 hours in. My kid hated him. He is super negative and had not a nice word to say about him or his driving. I switched to Drivers Ed direct. My child had a much better and positive experience. He passed the DL test and is on his way. Keep away from this company if you can....you won't regret it.... read more

Passed on my first try, all thanks to Erik! I only had 2 errors. I had previously gone to another driving school, one of the best reviewed in Glendale, but I still didn't feel confident. So I did the free 2 hour session with Erik, and he taught me more in those 2 hours than I learned in 6 hours with the other guys. He doesn't just want you to pass the driving test, he wants you to be a safe, smart driver. He constantly makes sure you are aware of your surroundings. He teaches you what to look out for and how to adjust your driving to suit any situation. I've had 4 sessions with Erik, 8 hours, and every session was a different driving situation, including canyon driving, busy intersections, night driving, etc. Every session he does a review of his driving worksheet, and has the driver apply what they learned during that driving lesson. When I first met Erik, I probably knew about 2 answers to his 30+ question worksheet. Now, I not only know the answers, but know how to apply them when driving. Erik is extremely knowledgeable about the rules of the road and why those rules exist, this knowledge helped instil the confidence I needed when driving. I recommend him to everyone! read more

My thanks to David .Q and Justin you guys are simply the best i passed my road test and i owe it all to your hard work and dedication. Training me to be a safe and good driver. read more

I cannot say how awesome is Erik. He is thorough with his lesson and I passed the test on the first try with 2 errors only. I started a driving lesson with a different driving school late last year. The instructor did not teach much besides telling me what I did wrong and to top it, he did not speak clear English so I was struggling throughout the lesson not knowing what exactly he wanted me to do. I was frustrated and almost thinking about giving up the idea of having my own license. Then I found Erik from yelp, I started my 2 hours free lesson with him immediately. Right after the first lesson I booked the 6 hours session with him because the amount of knowledge that he gave in the first lesson was fantastic. Not only he taught me how to drive safe and smooth, but also all kinds of situations on the road to avoid unnecessary accidents really help me build the confidence on the road. I went on my first try behind the wheel test at the DMV and I passed it with only 2 errors. I was very very excited and to my own surprise that I can be confident and comfortable at driving within such short amount of time. I definitely recommend whoever wants their license or currently struggling with practicing driving skills, Erik is your guy. BOOK HIM! read more

Erik's Driving School - Thanks to Erik, I passed my test with my first try at the DMV! - Driving Schools Near Me

To say that I had a rather unpleasant experince with Erik Polo from Erik's Driving School would be a true understatement. If I had the option of giving him zero starts, I absolutely would. A family member of mine had trained with Erik about 6 years ago, so I decided to try Erik out for myself. We did 3 (2 hour) lessons back to back, and needless to say he was immensely negative each lesson. He has a saying "let me drive" which he explained would be used in necessary situations, none of which occured during our lessons together. He would constantly say "let me drive" and take over the wheel. Now, from my understanding, when you hire someone to instruct driving lessons, YOU should be the one the doing the driving. I don't understand the point of paying someone to just drive the car themselves. He would constantly put me into unnecessary panics and seemed to love when I didn't do well at something. It was almost a celebration to him when something didn't go perfectly, and he would laugh about it. Maybe this is because he wants you to pay for more lessons with him. He constantly made condescending comments to me and my mother. After each lesson he would talk to my mother about our lesson, and had NOTHING but negative feedback to give her. He even used the word "disturbing" when he was talking to her about our lesson. As a student, I understand that you can have tough teachers that only want the best outcome for you, but he was not a tough teacher, he was down-right rude, unprofessional and disrespectful. I would understand this more if I had disobeyed his instructions, didnt watch out for pedestrians or overall was a careless student, none of which I was. He constantly laughs if you make a minor mistake or don't catch onto something rather quickly. He seems to expect all first time drivers to know how to nascar race. This is absurd to me. All-in-all I would never and will never recommend Erik from Erik's Driving School. I've never regretted paying someone for something more than this. If you want a positive, encouraging, and motivating teacher DO NOT go here, it's a very unprofessional business. Spend your money elsewhere. read more

I've been thinking about driving for 20 years, yes, you read it "20years"!!! And after the first lesson with Erik, I was so glad I called his school. He was on time, is very patient, extremely knowledgeable and most important he made me forget about my driving phobia from the beginning . He is a great instructor and trust me, if you want to invest in your future as a driver, you want to give him a call. He is constantly (during the 2 hr. sessions) giving you points, telling you what to expect, how to almost read the other drivers' minds and when you least expect it, you are driving down a busy blvd. In the middle of rush hr. traffic and you don't even feel it! I' m happy to say that thanks to him I was able to pass the behind the wheel test the first time! When it comes to sharing the road with all types of people, you want to learn from the bet and Erik is the real deal! read more

Erik is the best! He taught both my boys to drive. ​Recently as we were waiting in line for my latest sons drive test at the DMV, we noticed that the four kids that were in front of him all had failed. He became nervous and to be honest I was a bit nervous for him as well. When he arrived back the results were good! He had only missed one. After talking with some of the kids you could see that their driving schools had not prepared them for the driving​ test. Erik is the best! If you need an expert witness in regards to traffic rules, call Erik. Nobody knows the DMV better than Erik, including the DMV. read more

I am so impressed by Erik! He is super calm, knowledgeable and extremely capable. His car has dual brakes and gas, so you feel very safe. He conducts all the lessons himself, and he is always prompt. His 2 hour lessons are a great value, less expensive than the big schools where you might end up with a different instructor each time. He invites parents to ride along in the back - this is so helpful to understand where your teenager is in the process of understanding driving rules, traffic, and car control. I recommend him very highly. read more

By far, the best driving instructor you can ever ask for. My daughter just past her first driving test last week, after taking 6 classes with Erik. She didn't practice at all with me, except those lessons. I was highly recommended to choose him, by a friend, who her daughter failed in 2 driving tests,with 2 other instructors she has been with. She finally passed her driving test, after being with Erik. I was sitting in the car with my daughter, in 5 of her 6 driving lessons, so i can a sure you, that this man is very professional,precise, classy, and knowledgeable. He pays attention to everything. He was teaching her all the driving rules again, and again and again. He kept drawing her attention to everything that was happening around her on the streets, all the "situations" that can occur during her driving. I myself learned from him a lot, while sitting in the car,and listening to him.Every time he was teaching her a new rule, he opened a book, and showed her where it was written. Perfection !!! I truly recommend every parent who wants his kid to drive safely and by the rules, to let him/her take some driving lessons with Erik. You will not regret it. Thanks Erik , from me, and my daughter -May. P.S. - He is never late ! He always arrives 5 - 7 min before the time you were schedule your lesson. read more

I'm going to be honest, my girlfriend is currently taking driving lessons from here and she has expressed that Erik has been awesome! However, this review is about Justin Norman. Erik went on a vacation so Erik had to take my girlfriend on her driving lesson. She had the absolute worst experience with Justin. First and foremost please keep in mind she paid for a 2 hour session, this horrible experience consisted of only about an hour of driving.. Justin continuously made her pull over to the side so that he could talk on the phone and attend to other things besides teaching her how to drive.. He cursed profanity throughout the ENTIRE "lesson" he would say things like "that's f****** horrible" or "you don't f****** do it like that" he would curse on the phone and complain how his company needs to hire an assistant. This is completely unacceptable, and unprofessional. He refused to teach her anything, all he did was text on the phone, and curse at her every time she made a mistake... WELL MAYBE IF YOU GOT OFF YOUR PHONE AND TAUGHT HER, she would make less mistakes. As an established driving school, your reputation will continue to be tarnished if left with an individual such as Justin Norman. I hope his actions are addressed and a situation like this never happens again. read more

Ericks Driving School was Phenomenal! I took another driving school before Ericks and failed my behind the wheel twice. I decided maybe i needed to switch it up and came across Ericks website. He definitely outdoes and goes beyond my previous driving school. He showed me things and corrected previous errors that my previous driving taught me. I took my driving test again yesterday and only got three Eroora thanks to Erick. The DMV test instructor even said i was taught very amd was impressed by my knowledge in the driving laws. I highly recommend taking his course! You also get to driving in an unmarked 2014 Toyota Camry! read more

He teaches you the rules of the road and what not but when you make an error he takes over the wheel and doesnt let you drive for a good while. Also, on one of my sessions we picked up his daughter from school. Keep in mind, i only had 1 hour of driving under my belt. I had scheduled 6 hours but only did four. My friend taught me how to drive a lot better than Erik did. read more

I liked Eric.. I had a driving phobia due to past trauma.. He had me on the road, freeway and canyons right away.. Made me confident before I took off on the road.. I have had a couple of people and schools attempting to help overcome my fear of driving but I can safely say Eric is the man.. His rates are pretty reasonable.. I also passed my driving test the first try:. read more

Erik is an outstanding teacher. I read some of the poor reviews - a lot of silly nitpicking about unimportant things. I found Erik to be an excellent guide to every day safe and alert driving habits, as well as proper mechanics of driving and situational awareness. He presented a variety of driving scenarios to my sons. It seemed he had a lot of information to convey to his students and limited time to do it, so yes, he did talk fast. But he always welcomed questions and if you let him know he's going to fast, he'll review again - he was never rude. I appreciated his focus on making sure my sons learn how to drive with anticipation of what could or will happen next on the road. He told us exactly what the DMV testers are looking for. Both my sons passed on their first driving tests and they are better drivers because of his instruction. I highly recommend him. read more

I just got my driver license today. I took only 6 hours with Erik. He helped me to always keep scan surrounding, traffic checks, braking, etc because it's important for the driving test behind the wheels. He's a good teacher and I recommend this driving school. read more

I had a pretty annoying experience with Erik driving school. I have been driving for 10 years in UK and recently moved to US. I wanted some help to get familiarized with US roads and regulations and found Erik number on the internet. My first class with Justin was awful and then changed the instructor to Erik. He too was very annoying and always talks about coasting the car rather than focussing on what's important for me to prepare for the test. Always takes control of the car for no reason and in a way which shatters your confidence. I totally agree with some of the comments made by Joan Q in one of the reviews. Both me and my wife have joined Erik's school and she had similar experience will post her own message separately. Overall, me and my wife spent USD 800 with Erik but neither of us got the license and am now looking to find a new instructor. On a positive note, Erik is very knowledgable but in my view he doesn't apply it in a right way during the classes. read more

Erik is the best! My daughter drove with us for over a year but she learned the most with Erik! He is NOT just cramming for you to pass the test he is teaching you to be a great driver. He even teaches them how to save money on gas and not wear out your brakes! I rode along with him and even I learned a lot to improve my driving! He's always on time also. Best teacher! read more

Erik's Driving School is just a total classy act. From start to finish with wonderful clear communication and extremely timely even up in the hills of Calabasas. My son had a wonderful experience. He learned a great deal from an extremely knowledgeable man and I would not hesitate to recommend or use his service again. Besides all of that which Eriks DS is also more reasonable price wise than most if not all of the bigger operations. I guarantee your satisfaction. What more can I say :) read more

We are very happy with our experience with Erik's Driving School. My son passed his test on the first try, and I even learned things by sitting in the back seat during his lessons. I really appreciated how Erik constantly talked about what was happening on the road in order to teach awareness. I was so pleased that I also signed up my 22 year old daughter for a lesson because she had recently moved to LA and the amount of traffic and having an accident had made her afraid to drive. After 2 hours with Erik not only did she have confidence but I was no longer afraid to ride with her! read more

Erik's Driving School was fabulous. Erik knows how to teach driving, in fact he teaches the instructors from other schools! My son had never driven before his first lesson with Erik. Erik taught him so much and helped him feel so confident after the two hour lesson that neither my husband nor I were ever nervous while taking him to practice. And to top it off, he passed his test on the first try! On another positive note, Erik's Driving School is less expensive that the big names and because it's a small school, you can have the same instructor for all of your lessons so there is consistency and familiarity. I highly recommend Erik's Driving School for anybody learning to drive. read more

Erik really knows his stuff! Can recite the laws. He puts you in and explains real world situations. Overall very good experience!

I did so many hours and failed. He doesnt allow you to think while driving. He always says "let me drive" and takes over the wheel. You have to be so depended on him while learning cuz he doesnt allow you to think for yourself. Yes, he is less expensive than other schools..but dont do it.Go for the bigger names. read more

Erik was very scattered and unorganized while trying to book our set our lessons. This was our birthday gift to our 16 year old so it was very important to us. We were given a set of days and times to pick from the next week but when we called back to schedule it suddenly he wanted us to only drive with him and talked us in to waiting two more weeks until he came back from vacation. Five days before the scheduled lesson someone he hired called to tell me they had to cancel. Erik was unreachable and now the earliest lesson would be weeks away. No matter what the reason was, emergency or not, this was an unacceptable way to handle a new client. I explained how this was his present and we couldn't even start working on his 60 hours until we had our first lesson. I wasn't promised even a call back. Erik finally called me Thursday evening (three days before the now cancelled lesson), barely knowing who we were. I explained that because I had not heard from him I had to call around for a lesson elsewhere and all he said was "fine" and did not even apologize. I was shocked. That is terrible!! An apology was due. Then to top it off he called again tonight, forgetting again who we were to reschedule the lesson. He really has no clue what's going on. He is very disorganized and I am lucky we did not give him our money. I do not trust he would remember taking it!! Beware. He really let us down!! read more

I held a licence from another Country so needed help learning the US rules and ways to drive. Erik was brilliant. Corrected my bad habits, taught me what to look out for and most importantly for me, tips to pass the test. I passed my test first time with zero errors. The examiner even asked me who my instructor was as he felt my driving was very good. Thank you Erik! read more

Erik is a fantastic instructor, and a great driver. I can honestly say he knows more about driving and laws about driving than anyone I have ever met. He really knows his stuff. He's very patient, and knows how to teach. Erik is also a great guy, and a very interesting person. He really taught me a lot and helped me drive in all sorts of environments. I highly recommend him. read more

I was so impressed first how pleasant and professional Erik was on my initial call. He and Justin are very knowledgeable, patient, outstanding instructors. I was surprised all the things I did not know. My Daughter was very comfortable with them and passed with only 1 infraction. Erik and Justin are a pleasure to work with! read more

I'm 22 and only had about 10-15 hours of driving experience before signing up for this school. So far I've had 4 lessons and they have all been with Justin. He's encouraging and straight to the point. After about month of driving with him and going over driving test preparation, I got my license on the first try! Because of the defensive driving techniques Justin has taught me, I feel like I am much more aware of the road and able to predict when cars that don't use signals are going to turn. Driving around with Justin has made me confident in my driving abilities and I'm so thankful for that! read more

I put three girls through this training. Erik is the absolute best at preparing student drivers to pass their driving exam.

My daughter just had her third lesson; Erik welcomes and encourages parents to ride along and I'm glad I did. Erik is extremely knowledgeable and patient. He challenges students and takes them to areas where they'll encounter "hidden" stop signs and alleys/driveways where there's no visibility which makes it impossible to see if pedestrians/bicycles are present. I've learned things I never knew which is a definite plus!! I want my daughter aware of and/or exposed to potential hazards so that when she is on her own, I'll have peace of mind. Erik provides the best education. read more

This review is looong over due. You have to give credit , where it is due. You want Eric to teach you, no one else, yes because he is that good. I had never driven before, we spoke to him on the phone and we agreed i can start lessons the next day.This man showed up on time, on the dot, we explained i wanyed to take the test in 5 days i think and he advised that o need more lrsson , but miracles do happen. I was not inyetdsted in the theory part of it but we did it anyways and looking back am glad we did. Eric is really precise and does don't cut corners, he actually would give me homework and everytime we started our lessons, i had to know and go through all the basics, thats what you want, every sec and minute was utilized, I'm happy about that, a huge difference from these mediocre driving schools. This guy knows his stuff, you feel safe driving, i panicked thank God he is super quick with the wheel and the pedals .. Yes i passed my driving test Thank you very much and i will be sending a huge box of chocolates read more

I had taken about 10-11 courses with Erik's Driving Instructor and approved my street check around the try! Right after just a couple classes I experienced comfy traveling within the ridiculous visitors . His packages and classes had been inexpensive and that he was constantly prepared to support my and me occasionally ridiculous routine. I've used driving instruction at other colleges however they usually do not evaluate. read more