Westwood Driving School

What Westwood Driving School does

Westwood Driving School, operating commercially as Primo Driving Schools, is a California DMV-licensed driving instruction provider (License #E2115) headquartered in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles and serving the Los Angeles metropolitan region and San Fernando Valley. The company was founded in 1979 as Westwood Driving Schools and rebranded through Primo Driving Schools before being acquired in 2025 by Coastline Academy, which is described as the largest driving school in the United States.

The company's product portfolio spans five core offerings: private behind-the-wheel driving lessons sold in 1, 3, 5, and 10-lesson packages; a road test service that schedules DMV appointments, supplies the test vehicle, and accompanies the student on test day across 10+ DMV locations (Santa Monica, Culver City, Van Nuys, Hollywood, Thousand Oaks, Arleta, Lincoln Park, Hawthorne, Glendale, Winnetka); permit test tutoring delivered via Zoom through partner RoadScholars; one-hour senior driving evaluations that combine physical, memory-based, and cognitive assessments; and stick shift instruction including an advanced Stick Shift Adventure Course co-developed with performance driver Heather Pupecki. The UCLA Environmental Health and Safety partnership provides institutional endorsement for the manual transmission program.

The business model is direct-to-consumer, one-time-fee lesson packages and add-on services with complimentary pick-up and drop-off across the service area. Customer segments include teens meeting DMV minimum instruction requirements, adults and seniors seeking refresher or evaluation services, established drivers needing targeted skill practice, anxious and differently-abled learners requiring adaptive instruction, and manual transmission learners. Distribution is omnichannel: direct website booking, a phone sales line (888.978.7299), and in-person field delivery by DMV-licensed instructors. Marketing is concentrated in organic search, Instagram, TikTok, and email under the Primo Driving Schools brand. Cumulative scale signals include 4,000+ alumni and 500+ five-star reviews.

Name

Westwood Driving School

Legal name

Primo Driving Schools

Website

https://westwooddriving.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Westwood Driving School (operating as Primo Driving Schools) is a California DMV-licensed driving school, founded in 1979 and acquired by Coastline Academy in 2025, providing private behind-the-wheel lessons, road test services, and stick shift instruction to teen, adult, and senior learners across the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Driving Instruction Services

NAICS

Automobile Driving Schools (611692), Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691)

akta.pro primary industry

Travel Training & Independent Mobility Instruction (EDAKAOAE)

Keywords

• Driving instruction
• Behind-the-wheel training
• DMV road test prep
• Manual transmission lessons
• Senior driver evaluation

Headquarters

HQ city

Westwood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Driving Lessons: Per-lesson and package-based driving instruction services. Offerings include 1, 3, 5, and 10-lesson packages. The 3-lesson package completes the DMV minimum for teen instruction.
2. Road Test Service: DMV road test preparation and execution service including scheduling, vehicle provision, and instructor accompaniment to the DMV test.
3. Permit Test Tutoring: One-on-one tutoring for the DMV knowledge test via RoadScholars partner program, available in one-hour increments via Zoom.
4. Senior Evaluations: One-hour driving skill evaluations for seniors including physical, memory-based, and cognitive assessments with safe driving skill evaluation.
5. Stick Shift Lessons: Manual transmission driving instruction including beginner, intermediate, and advanced canyon courses. Can be purchased individually or as add-ons.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Westwood Driving School (now operating as Primo Driving Schools) provides private, DMV-licensed behind-the-wheel driving instruction in the Los Angeles area, with package-based lessons (1, 3, 5, or 10 sessions), DMV road test scheduling and vehicle provision, permit knowledge test tutoring via the RoadScholars Zoom partner program, senior driving skill evaluations, and stick shift/manual transmission lessons up to an advanced canyon Adventure Course. All services include complimentary pick-up and drop-off across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.

Product overview

Westwood Driving School (est. 1979), continuing as Primo Driving Schools, operates as a driving education platform offering a comprehensive suite of instruction services. The core offerings include private driving lessons (1, 3, 5, or 10 lesson packages), road test preparation with vehicle provision, and senior driving evaluations. Add-on programs include permit test tutoring via the RoadScholars partner and stick shift/manual transmission instruction including an advanced Adventure Course. All services feature pick-up and drop-off across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, with an adaptive curriculum developed with driver training and education experts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RoadScholars: Partner program serving as a private, tailored tutoring program for persons looking to prepare for the DMV knowledge test via Zoom sessions

Products and services

• Driving Lessons Private one-on-one driving instruction with DMV-licensed instructors, available in 1, 3, 5, or 10-lesson packages covering beginner through advanced skills, with complimentary pick-up and drop-off across Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.
• Road Test Service End-to-end DMV road test support including scheduling with the DMV and an instructor, pre-test pickup one hour before the test, vehicle provision, and guided check-in at the DMV.
• Permit Test Tutoring (RoadScholars) One-on-one tutoring for the California DMV knowledge test delivered via Zoom, pairing students with expert educators and driving instructors in one-hour sessions, available statewide in California.
• Senior Driving Evaluations One-hour in-vehicle driving assessments for seniors combining physical, memory-based, and cognitive screens, conducted at the Westwood Village office and producing a personalized safe-driving action plan.
• Stick Shift Driving Lessons Manual transmission instruction taught by DMV-licensed instructors on real roads and freeways (not parking lots), offered in 1, 3, and advanced formats with no additional insurance required; trusted by UCLA Environmental Health and Safety.
• Stick Shift Adventure Course Advanced canyon driving program developed with performance driver Heather Pupecki covering downshifting, hill starts, and rev matching; available a la carte or as an add-on to stick shift lessons.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of students prepared for DMV Tests
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Coastline AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Coastline Academy acquired Primo Driving Schools in 2025, bringing the quality and resources of the largest driving school in the United States to bolster the local team. Primo Driving Schools (formerly Westwood Driving Schools, est. 1979) joined Coastline Academy to continue serving the Los Angeles community.
• RoadScholarsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner program providing one-on-one tutoring for the DMV knowledge test. RoadScholars serves as a private, tailored tutoring program available to anyone in California via Zoom, matching students with tutors for permit test preparation.
• UCLA Environmental Health and SafetyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInstitutional partner that trusts Primo's stick shift program. The partnership provides credibility for the manual transmission instruction program, with UCLA recognizing the quality of instruction provided.
• Heather PupeckiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPerformance driver collaboration to develop the Stick Shift Adventure Course - an advanced canyon driving program. Heather Pupecki, an expert manual transmission driver, collaborated with Primo to create this advanced training experience.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Coastline Academy: Parent company and described as the largest driving school in the United States; operates multiple regional driving school brands with the same behind-the-wheel and DMV test preparation model as Primo/Westwood.
• AAA Driver Education: AAA offers in-person and online driver education programs across many states; comparable to Primo because it bundles classroom prep, behind-the-wheel training, and DMV test support for teens and adults.

Regional players

• California Driving School: Multi-location California driving school providing behind-the-wheel and online driver education; comparable to Primo in curriculum and package offerings though typically serving other California metros.
• Mid-Del Driving School (and other local DMV-licensed schools): Placeholder representative of the long tail of small DMV-licensed California driving schools; comparable in service scope but limited geography and weaker brand presence than Primo's LA footprint.
• Improv Traffic School: California-based traffic school and driver education provider; overlaps with Primo's permit prep, defensive driving, and refresher offerings, primarily via online channels.

Direct peers

• All Star Driving School: California-based in-person driving school offering teen and adult behind-the-wheel instruction, DMV road test services, and similar pick-up lesson packages; directly comparable in service mix and customer profile.
• DriveSafe Driving Schools: Southern California driving school chain offering DMV-licensed behind-the-wheel instruction and road test services; competes head-to-head with Primo in the LA metro and San Fernando Valley.
• SafeWay Driving School: California in-person driving school providing teen driver education, behind-the-wheel training, and DMV road test prep; closely mirrors Primo's package-based lesson structure and California focus.

Emerging players

• DriverEd.com: Long-standing online driver education and traffic school provider; overlaps with Primo's permit test tutoring and adult refresher offerings through a digital, multi-state platform.
• Aceable: Online-first driver education and driving school provider serving multiple U.S. states; competes with Primo in the permit-knowledge and parent-taught segments and represents the digital delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/primodriving/?hl=en
• TikToktiktok.com/@primodriving
• Xx.com/westwooddrive
• Facebookfacebook.com/westwooddriving
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/westwooddrivingschool

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Westwood Driving School