Gulf Coast Driving Academy was established in 1993 by Milton Foley and his wife, Kathy Foley. Milton is a retired police officer with 20 years of law enforcement experience. It was with this background that he became interested in providing the best and most conscientious training for teen drivers. His desire is for teens to take seriously the privilege of driving as their inexperience can affect many lives. Multiple course offerings are available to train teens to seniors as well as driving instructors.
Services
It's tempting to choose parent-taught driver's education. We understand that your teen is involved in many different activities and that your time and money are valuable. We believe your teen is even more valuable. You may believe parent taught is cheaper--it cost $20 bucks with DPS. But is it really?
Yes, Texas Law states he/she can take the entire 32 class hours, but the student cannot receive his/her permit drive to behind the wheel with an instructor until he/she is 15. Our policy is that the student must be turning 15 within the first month of class. Otherwise, they will not have time to complete the driving portion as stated in their contract.
BEFORE YOU MAKE A PAYMENT: Please be certain your student can attend that class, is at least 15, has their Social Security Card, and can get a VOE. These are all requirements by DPS (not us) in order for them to be eligible for a permit!. Students are not guaranteed a place in class until the parent or guardian signs the contract.
DPS will require a VOE, original or certified birth certificate, and your social security card. If you are failing, missing school, or in credit recovery your public/private school may deny you a VOE so check before signing up! If you are moving, please bring this to our attention BEFORE you sign up so we can determine whether or not we can accommodate your timeline.
Reviews (7)
Angela Noss
Aug 26, 2021
Shout out to all that work at the Lake Jackson school! Wow! We did the 3rd party driving test there, let me tell you! They were so welcoming and so nice! They gave my son extra pointers and tips, all while we did parent taught. They are so amazing! I recommend this school to anybody! Thank you Gulf Coast!
Jackson Mason
May 19, 2021
Critical:Communication, Professionalism, Quality, Value Horribly overpriced! And we did NOT get what we paid for. Basic, if not inadequate level of instruction. They only seemed to care about collecting payment and not our son learning to drive safely. The staff was snooty and dismissive when we expressed our concern and told us we were welcome to go elsewhere with no refund.
Erica Pleasant
May 14, 2021
Took my money, after almost competing the entire course, told us we ran out of time and had to completely retake the course. My son got sick, not wanting to spread the virus, and then, with the recent freeze we were stuck out of town. We got behind on drive times. They initially agreed to an extension, and acted like it never happened when we showed up to sort it out. Don't make the same mistake I did and waste your money!
Connie Wechtenhiser
Apr 02, 2021
Critical:Communication, Professionalism All I can say is WOW! How are these people still in business?! I called for pricing and schedules today and was treated like I needed to EARN THEIR SERVICES! Cannot believe the Holier than Thou attitude I was met with! I will find a better option to send my daughter for Drivers Ed.
Lilly Munster
Mar 21, 2021
Claudezilla Chmielewski
Mar 16, 2021
UPDATE: The owner response is yet ANOTHER LIE. They did nothing to help and intentionally thwarted any attempts we made to compromise. No one but staff was obnoxious or rude. I wish there was a way to give this business 0 stars. I am not the complaining type, but I thought I ought to take the time to relate my experience so that others don't have to go through what I did. Mr. Foley, the director and/or owner may suffer from senility and if that is the case I do apologize, but I cannot imagine any other reasonable justification for his behavior and that of the staff.
Completely unprofessional. During the course of the class, my child received a serious physical threat at school and we thought it best to relocate him to my home 1.5 hours away. Because we had already paid Gulf Coast and they would not work with us, I went out of my way to make the 3 hour round trips to get him to and from this facility. I made these appointments personally with Mr. Foley and we were very clear over the phone and in writing as to when they would occur.
I explained the circumstances in detail and he seemed to understand. But when I drove all the way back to Lake Jackson for our appointment, I was met with an incompetent staff who was not aware of our arrangements and refused to contact Mr. Foley, who was not even present. I insisted on staying until I spoke with him as he had not only wasted my time, effort and fuel, but also valuable time with my child that could have been spent other ways.
I was threatened with a fabricated police dispatch to which I remained obstinate and insisted again on speaking with Mr. Foley. When they finally put him on the phone, I was cursed and insulted before being informed that he had no recollection of our multiple discussions and appointments. I was told that they did not want our business and that my child needed to find somewhere else to attend.
They also made it maliciously clear that they would withhold the records of his progress as "their property" and he would have to start over entirely with another school, despite him having completed all classroom instruction and all. but 2 hours of drive time. At the end one of the women even stood up and got directly in my personal space during a time when social distancing was still mandated, took her mask off and screamed at me and threatened me from 6 inches in front of my face.
I was both shocked and embarrassed by this behavior and decided it was best that we take our business elsewhere, but here I hope to forewarn anyone else that may be considering Gulf Coast Driving Academy, that it IS NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE! I highly recommend you find a better, more competent and professional business to give your valuable dollar.
Completely unprofessional. During the course of the class, my child received a serious physical threat at school and we thought it best to relocate him to my home 1.5 hours away. Because we had already paid Gulf Coast and they would not work with us, I went out of my way to make the 3 hour round trips to get him to and from this facility. I made these appointments personally with Mr. Foley and we were very clear over the phone and in writing as to when they would occur.
I explained the circumstances in detail and he seemed to understand. But when I drove all the way back to Lake Jackson for our appointment, I was met with an incompetent staff who was not aware of our arrangements and refused to contact Mr. Foley, who was not even present. I insisted on staying until I spoke with him as he had not only wasted my time, effort and fuel, but also valuable time with my child that could have been spent other ways.
I was threatened with a fabricated police dispatch to which I remained obstinate and insisted again on speaking with Mr. Foley. When they finally put him on the phone, I was cursed and insulted before being informed that he had no recollection of our multiple discussions and appointments. I was told that they did not want our business and that my child needed to find somewhere else to attend.
They also made it maliciously clear that they would withhold the records of his progress as "their property" and he would have to start over entirely with another school, despite him having completed all classroom instruction and all. but 2 hours of drive time. At the end one of the women even stood up and got directly in my personal space during a time when social distancing was still mandated, took her mask off and screamed at me and threatened me from 6 inches in front of my face.
I was both shocked and embarrassed by this behavior and decided it was best that we take our business elsewhere, but here I hope to forewarn anyone else that may be considering Gulf Coast Driving Academy, that it IS NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE! I highly recommend you find a better, more competent and professional business to give your valuable dollar.
Ava Reye
Feb 06, 2021
Critical:Quality Spent three minutes with my son and failed him He is an awesome and very safe driver who has been driving for a year. He wanted to give him lessons and charge me more money. Wasted 100$ in 3 minutes. Do not use this driving academy to test. Waste of time and money. The guy is greedy and so rude.
