Needham Driving School F. Glenn (driver) abusive, intolerant Newton Massachusetts

I can say some good things about this place. The instructors are very knowledgeable. My instructor had many years of experience - around forty, by the owner's word.

However, knowledge is not a substitute for a lack of patience and tolerance. Having around four hours of driving experience by the age of 27 (something I explained to my driver in advance), I was quite nervous I'd run into something. My instructor constantly chided me for my breathing, which he felt was hyperventilating, and grew more irritated over time. He eventually started imitating my breathing so I 'knew what it sounded like.'

After a two-week hiatus, I returned and was, unfortunately, quite rusty. My instructor lost patience and asked me, outright, if I had a learning disability, and when I was too taken aback to speak, demanded  "that I had to tell him something," citing that he was going to review with my doctor whether I should ever drive.

Get that straight. My instructor, when faced with a timid and inexperienced student, responded with threats. I didn't run into a tree. I didn't turn into oncoming traffic. All I did was breathe, and possibly drive and learn a little more slowly than expected.

I went into a blind panic and told the driver, more or less, my entire medical history (including the current medications I was taking, which he directly asked for) in the most humiliating hour of my life, trying to interleave answers to deeply probing questions with my normal driving lesson. Yes, I probably didn't drive well that day (I expect the owner to respond to this with the specifics in order to discredit this report), but no doctor worth the paper his MD was printed on would hold it against me. In fact my doctor, upon hearing that the driver demanded to know what medications I was taking, was so taken aback he called the school himself.

When I complained about the driver's behavior to the owner of the school, the owner terminated my lessons for daring to criticize his instructor of "forty years." I asked if this was normal, given how many sixteen-year olds probably performed far worse than I do (run into buildings, for instance). The instructor interpreted this as an accusation that his driver “liked 16 year-old girls” and told me in front of my parents - and his customers - that I had made this accusation. He also had the nerve to ask me again, in front of my parents and in front of his other customers, if I have a learning disability

Disclaimer: I am an MIT graduate.

I dread returning to another driving school for fear of another intolerant and threatening environment. The nicest thing I can say is that the school refunded the money for my remaining lessons. That's the only nice thing I can say.