Upcoming Ownership Changes

The passing of Mr. Smith

I am writing with my deepest regrets to announce the recent passing of my father and the owner of Top Notch Driving Schools Inc., Vernon Smith.

As some of you may know, Vernon suffered a stroke earlier this year. He suffered a second stroke during the summer and was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, he passed away two weeks after diagnosis.

Vernon loved meeting new students and checking in with previous students. After he retired from the Army and law enforcement, he dedicated the majority of his time to the driving school and was very fulfilled with teaching new drivers.

I, with my brother, Vernon Smith II, intend to continue operating the school with our father's same commitment to helping students achieve their driving goals and providing driver training that helps keep our community safe. However, complications in the transfer will result in the school temporarily closing for a few weeks after our school license expires on October 31, 2023.

If you have any questions before October 31, contact me, and I'll do my best to help.

Thank you for the support over the last eight years,

Ashley Smith

About Top Notch Driving Schools Inc.

Veteran-Owned & Family-Operated

Top Notch Driving Schools Inc. (TNDSI) is a veteran-owned and family-operated driver training school in Newport News, Virginia. We provide services for areas of Newport News, Hampton, Yorktown, and Poquoson. We are licensed by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. We have partnered with 3A Method Driving Schools to provide our online courses and we are certified to teach AAA's Driver Improvement Clinic in the classroom.

School Mission

Our mission is to equip student drivers with the skills needed to be defensive, safe, and responsible drivers. We serve our community by providing driver training that helps to improve safety and reduce accidents. Over the years we have helped hundreds of students gain their driver's licenses and prepare for the fast and furious world of driving. And we look forward to working with you!

Our History

TNDSI opened on October 1, 2014, in Yorktown, Virginia. Our customer base was built from our array of courses, great customer service, and our ability to train students that needed extra help. We operated in Yorktown for three years before we relocated to Newport News, Virginia.

Equipment

TNDSI has cars that receive regular maintenance and annual state inspections. The cars have automatic transmissions and are equipped with a dual-brake and passenger-side rearview mirror for the driving instructor.

Our classroom has a maximum capacity of 32 attendees. There is a testing area for our online final exam students. We have multiple Chromebooks available for online testing.

Driving Instructors

While not all instructors are certified for all types of training, we have at least one instructor on staff for each of these: in-car training, online training, and re-examination courses.