Left Turn Driving School

I liked their service greatly. I took one lesson from them for 90 mins as I had an Indian driving license and just needed a little guidance to help me with driving on US roads. The instructor came to my house to pick me up. She was a little late but she came on little notice. Paulina was very helpful and nice. She gave me straight answers to my questions. I feel confident driving on my own now.

I forgot the instructor name who I had one lesson with but he was very rude to a point I got discourage from getting my license. Every time I made a mistake he would breath loudly and get frustrated with me as if I was wasting his time. I did take another lesson with another instructor who was a woman named Valerie she was so helpful and sweet but sadly I wouldn’t be returning to this school for lessons i will take my business and money else where

My son took lessons for months from this place. Because he had some trouble getting the feel for acceleration, his teacher suggested he take off his sneakers. And he continued to do that every time he drove. When he finally took the test, his tester told him, No, he had to wear shoes. This threw him off, and he failed the test. Surely his instructor should have known the rules, that one is not allowed to take the test without shoes on. It was wrong of him to let my son take all his lessons like that.
The school is also often hard to reach by phone. I would not recommend them.

Unprofessional!
My husband and I decided to sign up for a refresher driving lesson as we both have our licenses but haven’t driven in a while. We decided to book back to back lessons on a Sunday morning with an instructor named Alex. We received a confirmation phone call & voicemail the Saturday before to confirm our appointment. We went outside a few mins early for our 10am just in case he got there early. Around 10:10 we decided to call and just confirm again, since 10 mins have gone by with no instructor and no phone call; they confirmed our address and we were told to give him a few minutes he will be right there. At roughly 10:25am we figured something was up and called again only to be told Alex was actually not going to be available because it was Labor Day weekend.
–We booked the appointment over a week ago!
–We got a confirmation call the day before!
–We were even told to keep waiting at 10am when we called and now he’s not showing up!!!
We woke up early on a Labor Day Sunday and wasted 30 minutes waiting outside for someone who was never going to show up or bother to give us the courtesy to tell us the lesson was not happening.
Honestly, I’m glad the lesson didn’t happen. If they can’t even schedule lessons properly I can only imagine how the actual lesson would have turned out!

Terrible service! I had an appointment at 2, called at 215 because the instructor did not show up and no one picked up the phone Til the 3^rd time. Finally, said they’d get back to me… Almost an hour later saying he can’t make it, and that they can give me an appointment at 530 that day!!! These people do not take their business seriously, and did not apologize either. Have some respect and give your business to people who respect your time.

All I can say is wow. I don’t know why anyone would leave a bad review for this school… was very surprised by some other comments here. Anyway, I found the school through an Amazon local deal. The office isn’t much to look at but the staff was great. Ayperi and Paul were very patient in coordinating lessons with my crazy busy schedule. I took my first lesson with Tarosh and he was great but after reading about Alex’s 97% pass rate, I had to give him a shot.
At 6’8″, I thought he was going to be tough and militant but what I got was the complete opposite. He was patient and soft spoken which made me feel very comfortable behind the wheel. He gave me honest feedback and did not just teach me how to pass the road test but he taught me how to be a safe and responsible driver. I highly recommend this school and Alex as an instructor.
I’m 32 years old and failed the road test at 25 years old. I thought I would never pass the test but because of Alex, I finally have my driver license in less than 10 lessons. To those who find this expensive, I say how can you put a price on your independence? You pay for what you get and that is exactly what they provide. A way to pass and be a great driver.
Thanks to Alex and everyone at LTD!

This is second try to post my review after my initial review was deleted and I got banned to post. I took several lessons with this school. I had Alex as an instructor and let me tell you this guy should not teach. He was impatient and pushy, forcing to learn to drive aggressively like I am already a driver and don’t need to learn. I sat behind the wheel for the first time and from there he started pushing me to turn wheel like I’m running out of time. I explained to him that this is my first time and I need more explanations as to how to drive and not pointing at how much I suck at driving. I said I do not work well under negative pressure. At the end of the lesson I told him that his job is to teach me but not criticize. He said that I am paying him exactly for criticizing me.
If you still decide to go with this school take Anastasia, she is great. She made me feel like I can actually be a good driver very soon.

This place is the dive bar of driving schools. The instructor is a bit condescending as well. You can get done what you need to but dont expect more than that.

I’m a 28 year old who doesn’t have a driver’s license. Since I’ve spent all of my life in the city, I’ve never needed a license. However, I’m planning on leaving the city since it’s hard to find a decent job here. I need to learn how to drive since there are parts of the country with poor public transportation. I decided to get driving lessons.
I’ve had lessons with my old man on and off for the past 3 years, but they were usually in an empty parking lot. I never really drove in traffic. I chose this school since they boasted about a 97% pass rate. I’m not going to lie– I chose Anastasia because her profile picture looked cute. Unfortunately for me, her personality wasn’t so cute.
At the beginning of the lesson, I made it clear that I was a nervous driver. She seemed apathetic and callous. She kept admonishing me for mistakes that I made. She didn’t understand the fact that I WENT TO DRIVING SCHOOL BECAUSE I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE. It’s only fair that I point out that she did make an effort to explain some things, like the difference between a regular stop sign and an all way stop sign. She also explained how to parallel park and do a three point turn. My mediocre rating has nothing to do with the competency of the instructors at LTD– these people know what they’re talking about. It has to do with their attitude.
The drivers in Brooklyn are ruthless. They have no sympathy for a guy who is trying to learn how to drive. Whenever they felt that I was driving too slow, they’d overtake me. I felt that was disrespectful. When I complained about that, Anastasia basically said, «Tough luck, deal with it.»
There was one week when she was overbooked. In the back of my mind, I was glad that I wouldn’t have to deal with her. Instead, I had Sasha. Much to my chagrin, he was even worse. He got pissed off when I inadvertently drove in a bike lane. He nagged me to the point where I felt like saying, «F**k this» and getting out of the car. After that lesson (which ended about two and a half hours ago), I decided to no longer take lessons at LTD.
I don’t mean to sound racist, but Russians are terse and impatient people. Whenever they teach someone something, they don’t coddle them. I had a similar experience with a Russian math professor in college. I will try to find another driving school. If you have thick skin and are willing to take a lot of abuse, then by all means sign up for lessons at LTD. If you’re a nervous and/​or sensitive person, then don’t even think about taking lessons at this school.

After more than 15 years of inactivity as a driver, I suddenly had a need to be able to drive. I had been traumatized by a bad car accident, so I definitely needed professional help to get my confidence back. I had a great experience with Left Turn, and I actually discovered I liked driving!
Pros: Overall instruction was very good. Sasha was my primary instructor, though I had a few over the course of 5 lessons. I learned the skills I needed and when I finally had to get in the driver’s seat by myself (driving myself from the airport to my new apartment in a new city), I actually felt great. Got a good amount of experience in a variety of situations (highways, local roads, bad weather).
Cons: They were a little disorganized (this was in August 2011 — there may have been improvements since then). I used their online scheduling system, and twice I had instructor no-​shows due to some confusion on their end. They had a hard time deviating from their prescribed new driver plan. I explained that I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on parallel parking since I already had a license and was moving to a VERY suburban area, and they still had me practice this a lot. One day the instructor had me parallel park 4 separate times! I understand it is an important skill, but I had a very limited amount of time to re-​learn to drive and I wanted to focus on road skills.
Overall I definitely recommend Left Turn — love having the freedom to get out on the road with confidence!

Today, 5÷16÷2013, I became a licensed driver! I took my road test for the first time and passed with flying colors! Thanks to Left Turn Driving and my instructor, Anastasia! Now, I am a few months shy of being 32 years old and I have been taking driving lessons on and ofd for the past 10 years with different schools. I am so HAPPY I found Left Turn. They are the TOP driving school in NY! They are EFFICIENT, PROFESSIONAL, AD JUST GREAT! My instructor, Anastasia was ALWAYS on time! She made sure I understood the mechanics of driving. She keeps toy cars in her car for visual demonstration. I loooover her! Never did she make me drive to her personal errands! There was never any other student in the car. I am soooo relieved to have my license!!! This was the first time I took a road test and the process couldn’t be smoother. Thank you Anastasia from Left Turn!!!

my instructor was alex and he was awesome and funny, teaches you everything you need and will get you to pass, definitely choose this school it is the best!

Valery is a very patient and experienced driver. I learned a lot of tricks, and he knows some useful tips for your specific driving test location. If you are one of those people who think that it won’t be possible to learn how to drive, try this school and this specific instructor.

I’ve had a great experience working with the Left Turn Driving School. The school is very well organized, you can make/​update/​cancel appointments online, with your instructor, or through the receptionist (Diana). My instructor (Anastasia) is simply amazing: very punctual, professional, knowledgeable but also very patient — a perfect combination! Her goal is to really teach you how to drive, not merely to pass a driving test. Unlike many other driving schools in Brooklyn, lessons are never double-​booked. There is noone else in the car at any time, except for you and your instructor. All in all, I am very grateful to Anastasia and Left Turn Driving School and would highly recommend to anyone looking for driving lessons or classes!

Decided to try a new driving school for my road test and morning of lesson. Was booked with Alex and I was absolutely pleased! He gave me lots of last min tips that a truly believe made the difference in me finally passing my road after trying 4 times!
Would def recommended him!

first I must say this review isn’t about food, it’s different.
This is my review on my experienced with LTD, most importantly with Anastasia :-)
She’s been my instructor since day one-​well day one as in my recent lessons. She was very patient with me. She taught me all the basics and was professional.
Anastasia showed me how to start a car, even though I knew but she felt like showing me anyway. She also went through and showed me the signs in case if my car (one day) wouldn’t start this is why and what to do in in case it happens to me one day. I was also taught what to do in certain conditions, because one of my lessons was after that last big snow we had sometime last month. I also had one of my lessons in the evening which was important because I understand and know how to drive when it gets dark.
I would definitely recommend Anastasia to anyone who needs lesson. She’s professional, consistent, patient and genuine :-)
She made it possible for me to finally have my license today the 10^th of February.
I will also blog about my experience and will write the difference between LTD and other schools.
Check my blog out on the 12^th which is Sunday to read my experiences with other schools which didn’t helped:
Why Sunday? because I have so much to do tomorrow and won’t have time.
I did it –thanks to LTD school for having Anastasia as an instructor.

I was a bit hesitant on paying for driving lessons since this school is a bit on the pricey side, but after a few lessons, it was well worth it.
Alex is a great instructor. He made sure I understood the rules and explained concepts very well. Whenever I made I mistake (and there were many), he didn’t get frustrated or yell. Instead he calmly explained what I was doing wrong and practiced until I got better. He took us out onto roads that were similar to the ones on the road test (cramped two-​way streets that look almost one-​way).
Not only was I able to pass the road test on the first try but I am now confident that I am able to drive on my own safely.

Terrible.
Alex was always 15 – 20 minutes late.
Perhaps I’m just terrible at driving, but boy, did he have no patience with me. I almost cried after our 4^th lesson, because he just seemed so angry/​frustrated at my lack of improvement.
He took me on the Highway during the first 2 lessons. I’m not sure what he meant to do by doing that. The lesson right after was driving on steep, narrow neighborhood hills. Not quite sure what he meant to do with that either. I was a beginner.
The school is also extremely expensive. I had gotten one of the packages, so perhaps that was why Alex ‘taught’ me the way that he did. Sad, because if everything had worked out, I would have added lessons anyway.
I still have 1 more lesson with this school, but they can keep my money.
It’s kind of unfortunate, I hate leaving bad reviews.

Overall, I had a very good experience with this school. My driving instructor was great at putting me at ease behind the wheel, patient, teaching me to be more alert and what to pay attention to (hidden signs, lookout for one-​way signs, confusing traffic signals, etc.) and pinpointed the areas that needed more practice, such as not hitting the curb when parallel parking. I felt well prepared for my exam and I passed my road test on the first try. My only complaint was that my instructor was usually late for our lessons (10 – 20 minutes). If he was late we’d extend our lesson time until my full allotted time. But if you’re in a rush and have other things to do that day then scheduling could become a conflict. However, because I liked his teaching and it was effective and I was learning a lot… for me, it made it worth it to stick with this school.

Oh, totally forgot — they have a website which might be slow sometimes but it has great features like:
1) you can schedule your lessons online or
2) you can browse through their Rules Of The Road online lesson (free for all registered users)! Great lesson, makes it easier to understand all the rules!
Thank you again, LEFT TURN!