About our Behind the Wheel Driver Instruction

The Ashburn Driving School and the level of comprehensive driver instruction we offer is the result of a wonderful journey of prayer, hope, a strong sense of civic duty, and a desire to improve the level of behind the wheel driver education for those who navigate the roadways of our community. Here is how that journey began:

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

We made a few phone calls although we still didn't completely understand the process, 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 Package with Observation information under our Register Under 18 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 out doing the final phase of her licensing process, so when she arrived home with her license in her hands after only three lessons, we hugged and celebrated.  

About an hour later, I remember asking 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 our future driving school would provide to its students, we were simply thinking that she would have gained some further knowledge to share.

But her answer was something we never expected to hear: 

"Oh, we didn't learn anything at all, Mom, we just drove around and did errands for the lady." 

Well, we finally got over the shock of that statement, and it was then that we knew that we were called to a mission: vehicle road navigation--especially for new drivers--was just too important an endeavor to let that go. We also knew this would be an important way to provide a necessary service to our community while working together in a family-based business, something we had wanted to do for a very long time.

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.

So we researched all that was involved in becoming a certified driving instructor in Virginia as well as the process of starting our own business, and then fast forward to a year later, Lyle had accomplished all of the necessary coursework and requirements, and he was now a certified DMV driving instructor.  We were thrilled: our business license was in hand, his instructor's license was activated, and he was ready to start making the world a safer place one driver at a time.

And one of the first items on his list was to set about addressing the problem that we now saw first hand, and not only from our own daughter's experience but from innumerable stories we were hearing from our students: that a very  large number of driving companies 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 properly navigate the roadways of our community and beyond.

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 so finally the Ashburn Driving School mission of Driving to Save Lives was born.  At this time, we went from starting a business to embarking upon a mission; we went from providing a service to performing an honored civic duty; we went from teaching students how to drive to imparting road navigation skills for life.

And we're proud and grateful to say that with the grace of God, we've continued doing exactly that for over nine years now--with our official tenth anniversary of incorporation coming up on March 25, 2023.

So we thank you for joining us in this, our mission of Driving to Save Lives, where we gratefully, hopefully, firmly believe that with our students we can make our world a truly safer place . . . one driver at a time.

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And we'd be most grateful if you would help us to further our mission by telling your family and friends about us or by leaving a Google review for us either on the Contact Us form here on our website or at the following link: 

https://g.page/r/Cfj4piVKEgN4EB0/review.

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.