Cypress Driving School

After accepting a job as a defensive driving instructor—a class he said he had taken several times during his teenage years—Jeff Adams, founder of Cypress Driving School, decided to change directions from his dream of one day becoming a high school football coach.

Coach Adams' driving tips

Clear every intersection “Every single time you stop at an intersection, whether it is a red light or a stop sign, always look left, right, left, center and clear the intersection of cars before you step on the gas.”
Check your mirrors “The No. 1 wreck in Houston is being rear ended, so make sure you check your mirrors every time you take your foot off the gas and/or put it on the break.”
Always have good front spacing “You might have people who tailgate you or ride in your blind spot, but you can’t control that. What you can control is the distance between you and the car in front of you.”

“When I told my dad I was going to open up my own driving school, he fell on the floor laughing,” Adams said. “He said, ‘You ought to be able to teach them something for as much money as I put into those classes for you!’ I had learned the system, though, and it really helped me understand the right way to pay attention and look when driving.”

Adams—known as Coach Adams to his students—opened Cypress Driving School in 2000 in a one-room suite on Hwy. 6 near West Road when there were only three driving schools in the area. Now, Cypress Driving School has three separate locations, including one Adams recently opened in Magnolia.

“I had a waiting list and wanted to be able to get students [in the other areas] in a class,” he said. “I thought about where I needed to go, and then I expanded to where there was a need.”

With 10 student-driver cars and about 18 instructors, Adams said the school enrolls more than 500 students—teenagers and adults—each year.

Adams said he makes sure his courses, which include driver’s education, drug and alcohol awareness and defensive driving, are taught on a level that is easy to understand and also interactive and fun.

“I like to use videos and do some team competitions in the classroom,” he said. “It might get a little loud, but I think you have a better time remembering things when you have fun doing it.”

Beyond the classroom, Adams said his favorite part of the business, and one of the reasons he wanted to start his own driving school, is the in-car teaching. He said he might not get to ride with students as much as he used to, but still enjoys teaching in the car from time to time.

“I like the classroom, but it is still a lot of formality,” he said. “You really do learn driver’s education by being in the car, and I tell parents that I don’t care what their child’s problem might be, I will find it and fix it.”

Cypress Driving School

8660 Hwy. 6 N. Houston • 832-593-9170

www.cypressdrivingschool.com

Cypress Driving School

Saint Aidan’s Episcopal Church

13131 Fry Road

Cypress • 832-593-9170