Mercedes Teen Driving School to Open in Los Angeles

In the last days of March, German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz announced its plans to open the so-called Driving Academy for teens in the US, in an attempt to both make the brand more popular and to actually teach young drivers how to properly operate a car. Now, Mercedes decided to let the US public know that the first location the Academy will open in will be in Los Angeles.

By the end of the year, more precisely in October, Mercedes will open the doors to the Los Angeles driving school in style, planning to teach youngsters how to drive in the most modern way possible: online, classroom and behind-the-wheel training.

The local branch of the Academy will be headed by Carolyn Duchene, a long-time Daimler employee and a person that has been involved with several other Mercedes projects, some of them in training and education.

For the Los Angeles drivers, Mercedes-Benz will come up with one of the most comprehensive training programs available. The program will be California-focused, as Mercedes says, and will include on-road only curriculum, digital animations, problem-solving exercises and in-car coaching based on questioning.

"In addition to a unique educational approach, our highly qualified staff will be a key differentiator for the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy. We are recruiting and hiring the best talent for all areas of operation," said Duchene.

"The Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy will connect with students and parents using a personalized, customer-centric approach that truly creates a unique offering among driver's education services for new teen drivers."

A testimony of the success of the program is the similar one launched in the UK in 2009. Since then, 4,500 students have enrolled in the program, 79 percent of which passed the driving exam at their first attempt.