Professional Driving School of the Americas

Chip was an absolutely amazing driving teacher who had endless patience and knowledge of driving. As an absolutely new driver and NY native with a move to LA on the horizon, I was completely terrified and unsure of whether I could pass my exam. Thanks to Chip’s tips, kindness, and overall knowledge of driving, I passed my test on my first try… and the inspector said I did the best parallel park he had ever seen.
Thanks Chip! Couldn’t have done it without you!

Passed the road test on the first try! I had some previous experience and did 5 hours practice with Manny. He was a fantastic instructor, very professional, and always on time (texted me when he was arriving to pick up). He was very good at pointing out all the important elements for the test and pointed out and corrected all the issues in my driving until I got everything right.
I was also very pleasantly surprised by Pro Drive’s office/​customer service. Peary, who works in their office, responded to every email/​questions in matter of hours and always same day. I have heard horror stories about NYC driving schools, but in this case I can honestly say these guys are excellent. I found them on Unilocal,so paying it forward by adding my review.

Just passed my road test thanks to Chris and the school! Lessons were great and we always worked on my weak areas including more practice right before the test. Will recommend the school and Chris for any driving ability level. Thanks!!!

I had Chris as my instructor and after only a few hours of lessons I was able to pass my driving test. Prior to these lessons I did not have much experience driving, but he patiently worked with me to make sure that I practiced the areas where I was having trouble. I definitely could not do it without his help. He was always on time and on occasion even went longer than my 1 hour lesson times. I would highly recommend using this school and Chris if you want to learn how to drive.

Chip (Caesar) is one top-​notch instructor! If you are considering using any other driving school, you are simply wasting your time and money. He is personable, but can be firm when required — he really wants you to pass your road test and always has your best interests in mind. Chip’s advice and instructions are easy to follow and master. He explains to a «T» what will be expected of you on your road test. He is also detail-​oriented, covering all of the nuances of driving instruction. As far as the school itself, this is one well-​run business. I was easily able to get an expedited road test within 10 days as promised. I did not have to follow-​up constantly like I did with LearnRite (another driving school — and the best they could do was 6 weeks away). Again, Chip is a terrific instructor and the school itself — outstanding! I will recommend Chip and this school to others.

I had zero experience driving, and after taking classes with Chris, I passed on the first try with minimal number of points taken off. The examiner thought I was an experienced driver!
I ended up doing 30 hours of lessons because I had some time on my hands and wanted to get a lot of highway driving in, but I would have easily passed after 15 hours. Around 15 hours’ worth of lessons in, I was able to to comfortably drive a rental car upstate, both in urban conditions and on the highway.
I cared more about being able to drive under all circumstances than about passing the test per se. My fear originally was that I would pass the test, but not be able to actually drive. Chris was happy to teach me beyond just coaching me to pass the test — I am more than comfortable driving anywhere now.
I did several 1 hour classes in the beginning since it felt quite hard to remain focused when everything was new, then switched to 1.5 hours and then ended up with several 2 hour classes. The longer classes were great for going on a highway.
Chris was always on time to either pick me up or meet me at a pre-​determined location. He had me do a couple of mock tests in Manhattan, which came in quite handy at my Yonkers test site. He was great company — it really does matter when you are in a car with someone for 2 hours. He remained amazingly calm even as I made blunders (and I definitely made some stupid mistakes that he caught). He is an ideal driving instructor that I would recommend to anyone.
I was quite concerned I would end up at some shady low-​quality driving school (I have heard of some really shady ones), but these guys were a delightful surprise. Other than professional instruction, the office staff are very helpful and professional, and always responded to my emails promptly.
Highly recommended.

For something that is highly specific and could go horribly wrong (or right), few things matter as much as getting an instructor to help with your driving test /​securing your driver’s license. I HIGHLY recommend Chris at the Professional Driving School — he is ideal for this type of work. Very calm, very easy to get along with, supremely prepared, and not rushed at all. I knew exactly what was expected of me, the practice drive around was critical to my passing, and he was also very eager to see how I did when I finished (which I found a nice touch). He even went out of his way to think about potential scenarios that could come up in the test, but didn’t happen during our practice, and what to do in case it happened. He cares about people, safe driving is important to him, and it’s crucial his students do well.
If you are in need of a license, driving classes, or a personal driver for that matter — you really need look no further than these guys. Every step of the way the business was handled efficiently, I knew exactly what to do, and they even sent reminders for upcoming testing dates and road tests. I’m very happy with these guys, but Chris was really the icing on the cake.
I am now licensed and I couldn’t be more pleased with the ease of the process. Yes, it’s expensive, yes, you have to jump through hoops, and yes, if you don’t get expedited treatment, you can wait a while for your test date. It’s all worth it.
Thank you Chris!

I just passed my road test last week, after taking a 8 lessons with Manny.
He’s a great instructor– very accommodating and patient. I would highly recommend him for anyone wanting to take lessons!
Another piece of advice, please stick to one instructor or if you want to change, change after the first class. It’s much more consistent that way and helps you improve your skill on the same car with the same instructor.
Best of luck!

This is a good driving school. Being an experienced driver in France, I had just taken the 5-​hour pre-​licensing course and a 90-​minute lesson before the road test. My instructor, Chris, was very knowledgeable and helpful, he taught me everything I needed to know about the US way of driving and what matters for the test. And I passed, on the first try.
Their prices are globally in line with the other driving schools in Manhattan, and the staff is nice and efficient.

I passed my road test a week ago in Yonkers and I had a good experience with the school.
I had Chris as my driving instructor. He was kind, patient and understanding. He taught me everything I need to know for the road test. He gave me confidence to pass the road test. He is the best!!!

THIS PLACE IS THE BEST.
Ok, back story. This summer, my son, age 18 wanted to get his driver’s license. Only problem, he didn’t know how to drive and we live in Manhattan (5 borough rule — you can not drive in NYC with a learner’s permit. Even if you were 70 years old, you can not drive in NYC. You have to go to Long Island or Westchester or Nj). So, the summer passes and we never left Manhattan to give him any lessons. Plus, it was frightening to be in the car when he was driving, so we were not enthusiastic about giving him driving lessons.
It was getting to be Labor Day weekend, and he really wanted to have his driver’s license. I called up and signed him up for a 5 hour class as he never had driver’s ed at his high school (they don’t have it). Well, he said the class was boring, but sat through it. That was Saturday. Then Sunday, he had a driving lesson and learned how to park!!! On Wednesday, he went with an instructor for a two hour lesson before his road test, then took the road test in Professional Driving school car, and HE PASSED. WOWOWOWOWOOWOW!!!
FYI — good administration btw. He got a rush test (yes, pricey), but they were wonderful about keeping me up to date on what day, plus I called every day too:)

I just passed my roadtest and I had a great experience with this school!
Even though I contacted them only 2 weeks before my scheduled road test, they squeezed me in for 5 classes, and let me reschedule one of them later on when something came up. The people at the office are helpful and respond to emails promptly.
My instructor Chris was very nice, calm and knowledgable, and always on time. He tought me everything I needed to know for the test and I aced it! Thanks again.

I had never really driven before and had my learner’s permit. I took 5 hours of driving lessons with Manny and got my road test in the first try. Manny was a great instructor as he saw how I could improve and tailored every lesson specifically to what I had trouble with. He was patient while still encouraging me to be more confident with my driving. Overall, his lessons were great and I really enjoyed them.
The 5 hour class + 5 hours of driving lesson + road test and car package is a very good one. There was a minor problem with scheduling the road test (not worth a star) which turned out fine anyways. I am really glad I went with this driving school and would recommend it to anybody who wants to learn how to drive in a very good environment that will help you tremendously with the road test.

Very good driving school, I passed my road test on first try. My instructor was very outstanding and he was very patient, professional, always on time and always concentrate on my driving lessons. Extremely Recommended!

The instructors are good for the most part but the school itself is a mess. The majority of my 15 lessons were rescheduled at the last minute. We’re talking a phone call the morning of the lesson telling you that your lesson has been moved an hour later – this just doesn’t work for anyone who has things to do during the day! It would be one thing if this happened a few times but it happened more often than not.
Additionally, they did not give me the option to have a single instructor but rather booked me with four different instructors. One of them was a creep who asked me on a date mid driving lesson and made me feel very uncomfortable. He also would smoke cigarettes as he taught me and his car was filthy. The other three instructors were pretty good, but it was frustrating to have so many teachers giving me different instructions on how to park, etc. I called and said I wanted the remainder of my lessons to be with one instructor and was told that with the exception of one lesson, the rest had been rescheduled with my instructor of choice. This turned out to be a lie and I had another lesson with a different instructor only a few days before my road test.
It’s also not cheap, and for the price I would REALLY SUGGEST YOU GO ELSEWHERE. Overall it has been a very, very frustrating experience with this school.

I have experienced a horrible service and the one of the worst costumer services of my life while dealing with the «Professional Driving School of the Americas».
I scheduled a driving test but, on the day, they failed to notice that I didn’t have the right pre-​licensing certificate (which they could have printed for me as they had it in file). This led me to having to drive all the way to the test site but not being able to take the test at all.
Instead of trying to find a solution to this problem they said that checking the documents was just a ‘courtesy’ and they are not responsible for that. They also said ‘it was my word versus theirs’ and went on to fully charge my card despite not having delivered the service properly.
The end result: I was charged 257 $ plus 32 $ in tolls, wasn’t able to take the test, lost a full day of work and on top of that was told I was lying and didn’t deserve any type of reimbursement.
My advice to other Unilocalers would be to avoid this school and find another school around the area: in less than two blocks away you can find schools with better pricing, newer offices, newer cars and a more professional operation. You can find them thru a simple google search for New York driving schools.

Used Chris for my lessons. Hadn’t driven once before I started and just passed my test with no points marked off. He was an excellent instructor.

Fantastic driving school. Their lesson and road test package covers everything you need to get your license. I took my lessons with Manny who’s instruction was truly invaluable. I think I can safely say I wouldn’t have passes the road test without his help.
If you get the lessons/​road test package (which I recommend) try to take all your lessons with the same instructor if you can. You get comfortable with them and with the car, all of which makes the road test so much less stressful. It will help you and help your instructor to give you the most out of your lessons.

I have been in the US for 5 years now and been putting off getting my driver’s license forever. And finally when I did decided to get it done, I am glad I chose Professional Driving School. With absolutely no prior driving experience, I took 10 hours of lessons with PDS. I chose to alternate between 2 instructors — Chris and Neeko (not sure if i got the spelling right) as I could only do late evening classes and weekend classes. Both of them offered helpful tips and at the end of my 10 hours, I felt very confident. And yes, I did get my license on my first attempt!
The 5 hr pre licensing course was clear and to the point and i did not feel like I was sitting in the class forever (5 hrs inside a classroom is supposed to feel that way right?!). And not to forget the friendly staff who were ready to work with me for any re-​scheduling and location change.
Over all had a great experience, considering going back for a highway driving practice!

I took my 5 hour class last year in November here. It’s been a while and I’ve been meaning to come back and take at least one class with them for practice driving, but just have not had the time.
The class was quick, clear, and I certainly didn’t feel like I was wasting my time or my money. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful to all the questions I had over their individual classes and packages.
P. S. My 5 hour class was right before Thanksgiving, so during the break the instructor went across the street to Walgreens and got each student a box of chocolates. :D

Learning driving in manhattan can never be expected to be cheap. And this school charges about the same as any other school I guess. $ 60 per lesson, $ 70-​$ 100 if you want to schedule an expedited road test, $ 50 for the certificate.
What I really hated though was the lesson management. If you pick to practice in manhattan, expect to be able to drive for about 20 mins maximum. The instructors will pick you up and drop you back off wherever you want, but manhattan has so much traffic that it’ll take up lesson time to get to the practice site. I wasted the first couple lessons just like this. Then the instructor tells me there’s better sites up in Bronx. So we decided to meet up there to practice. The session would start there but again it would take 10 mins to get to the practice site. This place basically felt like a rip off. If you’re trying to teach lessons, at least don’t take time off of someone’s lesson to get to the practice site.
Wouldn’t recommend this place

After waiting until I was almost 30 to get my license I was super nervous about both learning to drive and passing the exam.
Thankfully I called this school and was paired with Chris who taught me the ropes in a really quick amount of time. I can’t say enough about how awesome Chris was — he taught me everything i needed to know and after only 5 hours of lessons (this is after having never driven before) I passed the test on my first try!
The school is awesome, Chris is great, and you can’t go wrong with picking them.

Took the 5hr pre licensing course with Wilma. She was great, thorough and didn’t talk too fast. She’s taught this class many times so she’s quite smooth and confident. Started at 5:30pm, took a break at 7 and ended around 8:30pm. Not bad! The class was mostly lecture and about 20−30mins of video time. Staff was super friendly.
I left a star off only because the instructor actually left after our break, and when the last set of videos were put on. Thought it was odd she didn’t wrap up the class and give out the certificates (another staff member did), but who knows, maybe something came up.
Highly recommend!

The folks are amazing and the lesson of Chris was very good. Passed my test with only 5 points (in the snow ;-)) Ladies at the office are also very helpful and responsive on e-​mail and phone. Office and cars are kinda old but it does the job ;-)
I took both the 5-​hour classroom course as the road test package (car, 1 lesson and pick-​up and return).
I would definitely recommend this school and package.