Drive Carmel Driving School has expanded its services to King City, bringing behind-the-wheel instruction closer to South Monterey County residents who previously had to travel to Salinas or the Monterey peninsula for lessons.
Drive Carmel Driving School has operated since 1999 and now has 10 instructors across the region, many of them retired professionals such as teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers and FBI personnel, teaching more than 10,000 students, according to owner Bill Perlstein.
“A lot of our families [in South Monterey County] were taking their lessons up in Salinas, and so we wanted to try to better serve South Monterey County,” Perlstein says adding that the expansion only moved forward once the driving school found “the perfect person” to fit Drive Carmel’s model of experienced, student-focused instructors.
Darren Gurley, 61, is the instructor serving the South County area including Soledad since the Spring. The services in King City began in late June, responding to the growing demand from South County students.
Until now, Gurley has had nearly 40 driving lessons and more than 20 students in King City. Gurley meets students at the King City Center on Canal St. where each lesson is about an hour and a half.
The driving school is also preparing to add pickup locations at King City High School and Greenfield High School in the coming weeks to make lessons more convenient as the school year is beginning.
While most students are under 18, the school has seen a notable number of adults- up to their early thirties, who delayed getting their license but still want professional instruction.
Perlstein said he doesn’t measure success strictly by how many students pass their Department of Motor Vehicles Road test on the first try, but by whether they develop consistent, safe habits behind the wheel—checking blind spots, scanning intersections when lights change, and checking rearview mirrors.
“The thing that we want to make sure, is that students develop a habit that is going to keep them safe," Perlstein says. “I feel successful when I'm on my last lesson with a student, and they have those habits, and I'm seeing those things in place, that's success.”
Pricing in King City matches Drive Carmel’s other locations, with teen lessons at $168 and adult lessons at $198. Instructors are able to adjust schedules around school, work, and holidays.
For more information visit drivecarmel.com