Welcome to the Ashburn Driving School

The Ashburn Driving School and the level of comprehensive behind the wheel driver instruction we provide are the result of a journey that began with our desire to form a family business, and after patience and prayer, our sense of civic duty led to a desire to improve the level of behind the wheel driver education for those who navigate the roadways of our community. 

Here is what sparked that journey:

Back in 2011, our second daughter, who was 17 at the time, was ready to take her driver's ed course, so we asked her to research some local driving schools, and she came back to us with a couple of options. 

And although none of us completely understood the seemingly complicated process, we made a few phone calls, and next thing we knew, we were sending her off . . . with a perfect stranger who had just pulled up in front of our home.  Well, we thought, this is required by the DMV . . . isn't it?  

Before sending her off, we had asked the instructor to let us know how many hours our daughter would need to drive because we had no idea that there were any other requirements such as having seven lessons of direct training and seven lessons of observational training. 

And the instructor's answer: I'll know after I've driven with her, was not only incorrect but it was also against the DMV requirements. We didn't know it at the time--mainly because no one, neither the DMV nor the local school system, had ever made a point of telling us exactly what the instructor was supposed to provide by law--but those seven lessons of direct training and seven lessons of observational training are non-negotiable.  (To find out what would have been the correct answer, see the Course with Observation information under our Teen Course tab.)

So we didn't give it much thought because our daughter, who had been an excellent driver during our practice sessions, was simply now going to be out doing the final phase of her licensing process, and when she arrived home with her license in her hands--after only three lessons--we celebrated.  

Shortly after that, we asked her, So tell us about what you learned in your driving lessons. 

At the time, we didn't even think about the countless specific road navigation skills and maneuvers that we would come to realize she and every driver on the road needed; we were simply thinking that she would have gained some further knowledge to share.

But her answer was something we never expected to hear: 

We didn't learn anything at all, Mom, we just drove around and did errands for the instructor. 

It was then that we found our calling: vehicle road navigation--especially for new drivers--was far too important an endeavor to let this go. We also knew this would be an invaluable way to provide a necessary service to our community while working together in the family-based business we had wanted to create. 

Lyle had maintained an impeccable driving record throughout his life, right through our thirty-three years of marriage and up to the present, and he has a natural gift for careful, conscientious road navigation instruction and safety.

After researching and completing all that was involved in becoming a certified driving instructor and a certified driving school in Virginia as well as the process of forming our own LLC, we were now ready to begin making the world a safer place, one driver at a time.  

And one of the first items on our list was to set about addressing the problem that we now saw firsthand, and not only from our own daughter's experience but from innumerable stories we were hearing from our students: that the greater number of driving companies in our community were running rough-shod over the DMV regulations and failing to provide even the most basic requirements, much less the countless more-advanced skills and maneuvers that are necessary for anyone to have for a lifetime of successful road navigation.

Knowing what teen statistics are for driving accidents, we wondered how anyone could give a driving student a license without having first provided a thorough, professional grounding in defensive and offensive driving skills and actual road navigation, far beyond the minimal DMV requirements. 

And finally the Ashburn Driving School purpose of Driving to Save Lives was born, and we went from forming a business to embarking upon a mission; we went from providing a service to performing a specialized civic duty; we went from teaching students how to drive to imparting road navigation skills for life.

We're proud and grateful to say that with the grace of God, we've continued doing exactly that for eleven years and counting now, and we thank you for joining us and helping us to further this mission of Driving to Save Lives.

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We'd be most grateful if you too would help us by telling your family and friends about us or by leaving a review for us either at Google Reviews or here on our Contact Form.

Your enthusiasm for what we do will allow the Ashburn Driving School to continue providing our services, educating our community, and devoting our time to the important pursuit of Driving to Save Lives.