Our Honest Review of ABC Driving School in St. Petersburg

Hello everyone! I'm sharing my experience of getting a category B license in St. Petersburg during the summer of 2024. I'll cover how we chose the driving school, how the training went, how the exam at the traffic police went, and my overall impressions.

Choosing the Driving School

Last year, my husband and I decided to take the driving test together, hoping that one of us would pass and get behind the wheel first. We live in St. Petersburg, and there are plenty of driving schools to choose from. I didn't want to pick just any school, so I asked our friends for advice. Some of them tried to pass the test on their own and failed multiple times, while others paid a bribe and passed on the first try. Each of them recommended a different school, so it was hard to make a decision.

One story caught our attention, and we were both skeptical: a friend of ours passed the test on her own at school ABC on Kamennoostrovsky Prospekt and passed on the first try. We were like, 'What's the catch?' We even joked with her husband that she must have paid a bribe, but she was dead serious when she recommended her driving school and suggested we check out their website.

And boy, was it a trip down memory lane! The website looked like it was made in the early 2000s, with a simple design and no fancy features. There was no sales pitch, no attempts to lure us in with promises of discounts or promotions. It was just a straightforward website with all the information we needed, presented in a clear and concise manner. No fluff, no nonsense. It was like they were saying, 'If you want to learn, we'll teach you. If you don't, that's okay too.' No pressure, no games. Just a honest approach that we appreciated.

Screenshot of the main page of ABC Driving School I was blown away by this approach - it's like a breath of fresh air in a world where everyone's trying to sell you something. For comparison, Baranka Driving School just kept calling and sending me offers. They even compared prices between their school and ABC Driving School, and after I told them I'd chosen ABC, they tried to convince me I'd made a mistake because their prices were 10,000 rubles lower. We were so impressed by the website and the non-pushy approach that we called the school to sign up for the automatic transmission course (they have it all detailed on the website too, and they convinced us it's the way to go). The director answered the phone, we chatted, and they booked us for the end of April (we called on March 10). As you can see, they're busy - we had to wait for the next batch.

We signed up for the Kamennoostrovsky branch (there's another one on Moskovsky Prospekt). It's a 1-hour drive, but we were ready to go. The school's office is just 5 minutes' walk from Kamennoostrovsky Metro Station - that was a plus.

In March 2024, the course cost 49,600 rubles per person. It's pricey, considering you can find a basic program for 17,000 rubles in other schools. In August 2024, after the scandals about bribes and tightened control over driving schools, prices went up across the board. As of when I'm writing this, the course at ABC Driving School costs 66,000 rubles. You can pay in installments over three months and get a tax refund. They explained all this on the website, and we thought their arguments were convincing. Plus, we were laughing about how the bribe is already included in the school's price, so our friend passed on the first try without anyone hinting at a bribe.

We're happy, we've signed up for the schoolHow the Training Went

When we arrived to sign the contracts, they gave us rulebooks. It turned out we had to bring these rulebooks to every theoretical lesson.

Their training system is old-school. No apps, no self-paced theory, no driving at any convenient time from day one. They give you a link to recorded videos of the lectures, but with a hint that learning this way is a hassle. The batches start once a month, and theory classes take place on a specific day of the week - you show up to class, sit at a desk, and listen to the lecturer while marking important points in the rulebook, just like in the old days. Practice starts a month after theory classes begin. Maybe it's for safety reasons, or maybe they just don't have enough instructors to split them across multiple batches, so they have to wait for the previous batch to finish.

You have to choose your theory day and practice days (two sessions a week) in advance before signing up for the course. You have to stick to your practice schedule because the instructors' schedules are usually packed.

Driving Schedule from the Driving School WebsiteThat's what the instructor's schedule looks like. There are no practices on Sundays and Mondays, so we had to squeeze in two other days. The slots highlighted in black are the 'elite slots' (the most convenient ones, everyone wants them), so one student can only take one elite slot, and the second one has to be at a less popular time. Since we signed up in March for April, we had a good selection.We had only one theoretical lesson a week from April 22nd to June 5th: on Sundays from 3 pm to 5 pm. It was a bit lazy and tough, but we showed up. Our Sunday group had around 25 people, and most of them actually attended all the lessons offline.

At the beginning of June, our instructor Vladimir got in touch with us to schedule our first lessons. And guess what? It was the same instructor who had taught our friend. He even remembered her and asked if she was still driving after passing her driving test. That's some good memory, considering he's had a constant turnover of students.

Anyway, we were leaving for a two-week vacation from June 10th to 21st, so we had to miss our first two weeks of practical lessons. Vladimir was a bit miffed about all these summer vacations, but he was flexible. After we got back, we had lessons four times a week at our own pace, during other students' vacations and the instructor's day off, to catch up on the lost time.

So, our practice sessions got pretty intense. My husband and I are absolute beginners – we didn't have parents who could drive us around and give us a spin in the countryside. We had zero experience behind the wheel. At first, it was tough. I remember the first practice, I had no idea how hard I needed to turn the wheel, and Vladimir just took us to the city with right turns. It seemed like a pretty complex task. Then left turns, then U-turns, then parking. I was struggling, but Vladimir told stories, joked around, and cheered us up. He'd say, 'Come on, Katya, you're going to be a great driver!' or 'Good job, Katya!' But sometimes he'd yell, 'Katya, watch where you're going!'

We really liked Vladimir. Some people might find him too familiar, but we fit in perfectly with his vibe – he gave us so many tips, we even quoted him at home with my husband. The lessons were always fun, with music from Retro Radio. One thing that does bother me a bit, but not too much: the contract says we'd have 54 hours of driving. We had 18 lessons, but each one was around 1 hour and 45 minutes or 2 hours. That doesn't add up to 54 hours. Overall, we gained some experience. We drove around the Primorsky District, down some rundown streets without traffic lights (to get used to the experience of the exam, where you'll have similar streets with unregulated intersections), along boulevards, across railroad tracks on Lanskaya, through the Chernaya Rechka area, and even practiced parking on a designated parking lot. We also parked in the city.

We got Vladimir a batch of cupcakes with his favorite quotes after practice I still remember the day we took our internal exam on July 19th. The organization was super strict: you had to show up on time and pass two theoretical tests on a tablet without a single mistake. If you messed up, you'd have to retake the test or come back a week later. This internal exam is run by the director and his wife. She's just as tough as he is. You can tell from the way the school is run: everything is by the book, no room for slack. If you're not on your toes, you might get a verbal warning from the director's wife. I've seen comments from people who were so turned off by the experience that they didn't even show up to school. But for us, it was just part of the deal. Our friend had warned us about the director's wife, so we were prepared.We passed the internal exam, so we were allowed to move on to the practical part of the exam route near Revolution Street. We learned a lot of tips on where to stop and how to behave if you're asked to (like, not against a bush or a fence). We even checked out some intersections. Did we memorize the route? Not really. So, we took some extra precautions: we watched a ton of YouTube videos on the exam route in St. Petersburg, went back to the route on our bikes to get familiar with the area, and even took an extra practice session with an instructor we'd seen on YouTube. We wanted to make sure we passed on the first try, no way we'd be showing up to our friend's exam looking like fools

By the way, what did we learn from that extra practice session? That we have no idea how to navigate a roundabout because we've never driven before. That our school's Lada Vesta is tiny compared to a Skoda, and we have no idea how to gauge our car's size. And that our driving school is somehow connected - everyone's heard rumors about it, but nobody seems to agree on what's True: is it hated by the cops or does it have some special privileges?

Don't even think about talking about your extra practice sessions in the driving school. They organize their own sessions and get upset if you go off on your own. Especially the director's wife, who was driving a car during the actual exam and kicked out a student when she heard about their extra practice.

Day X: the exam at the DMV.

There were about 70 of us, all divided into groups and assigned different days. We were in the first group to take the exam on August 8th, 2024.

We arrived at 8 am, just like they said. The school director and his wife greeted us. The director gave us a pep talk, saying, 'Enjoy this while it lasts - when will you get to drive a cop again?' The instructors showed up, and they brought our Lada Vesta (we were skeptical that anyone would let us take the exam on a school-owned car).

We went to the theory exam, and we passed. Then they divided us into groups and took the first five people, including my husband. One of the exam-takers was driving with an inspector and the school director on the backseat, while the others were driven by the director's wife to the pickup point for the previous exam-taker. The director wasn't there for no reason - he's rooting for his students, supporting and defending them.

The director's wife is a real firecracker. While driving us around, she kept our spirits high, explaining the rules and tricks of the road, as well as the exam route. She warned us, 'If you're chatting, sitting with your legs crossed, or staring at your phone, you're out!' So we sat up straight like soldiers.

The first three didn't pass. My husband was the fourth, and he aced it! By 10 am, he was already free. I waited for my turn, which was from 11 am to 12:30 pm. I rode with the director's wife, listening to her advice and instructions, which really calmed me down. I was no longer nervous at all.

Since the exam might now require parking in the city, it's not a given that you'll make it to the practice area. If one exam-taker was driving in the city, the next one would head to the practice area. I didn't want to go to the practice area because the cones triggered my anxiety, and all the instructors were watching - it added to the pressure. But the person before me messed up the practice area, so I had to start there.

We parked and took off with a flourish, passing by the instructors as we left the practice area. We drove on a familiar route, and everything was clear. The school director was there to support us, adding to the atmosphere. At one point, he told the inspector, 'Check out how she expertly turned around on the move!' The inspector just nodded in agreement. Well, I passed too!

I passed! My husband and I Can you believe it? My husband passed on the first try. I passed on the first try. Our friend passed on the first try. No one asked us to pay extra. Not even a hint. But there was total support every step of the way.After everyone passed, at around 3 pm, they organized us to go to the traffic police department to get our driver's licenses. Yes, right away, without any queues or waiting. They just took us to separate rooms, handed out the licenses, gave us a congratulatory speech about the importance of having a spacious car and an automatic transmission, and told us to keep practicing. They took a photo with us and sent us off. They even asked us to write a review on Yandex. We happily obliged, giving a positive review to a great school. I'm still on cloud nine, and I'm writing this review here

Our Big Day, August 8th, 2024 Our Overall ImpressionI'm stoked to say that we were both super happy with the whole experience, especially getting our licenses on the first try. The way they organized the theory and practical exams was top-notch, and we were blown away by the tough love from the director and his wife - they really pushed us to be our best. If you're willing to pay a bit more for the school and stick to the schedule, and you're not too fussed about the lack of customer service, then I'd say go for it. They really do have a high pass rate - it's not everyone, but it's a good chunk of people. Just don't mess it up on the day, and the rest will take care of itself.

Cruising out of Sestroretsk