By Liz Leamy
On practically any given day, Tom’s Auto Driving School, located on 1212 East Putnam Avenue in Riverside across the street from McDonalds, is as bustling a hotspot as ever as Tom Ferraro and his sister, Linda Muccio, its owners, along with their office manager, Donna Muccio, Linda’s daughter, are typically busy servicing their customers hailing from Greenwich and its surrounding towns and looking to obtain a good and lasting driving foundation.
Most certainly, Tom’s Driving School is as busy as ever due to its stellar reputation for providing excellent driver’s education centered around a learning platform in which one can be educated and trained in all aspects of driving while also having the ability to earn a Connecticut driver’s license.
This hopping venue, located on the second floor of a modern window-oriented building, is dynamic in every respect with its ringing phones and visitors interested in joining their program that consists of daily group classes as well as driving instruction on the road, among other vital things.
“There’s a lot happening here and we’re committed to what we do,” said Linda Muccio, a Riverside resident who, like her brother, Tom Ferraro, had grown up in Greenwich, with their father, Tom Ferraro Senior, who first founded the business in 1951. “The most important thing is to provide everyone with the best education and experience possible here so they have a strong driving foundation. That is everything.”
Certainly, the dedication of Linda Muccio and her brother, Tom Ferraro, who is also from Riverside, serves as the engine of this longtime Greenwich-based family-run business.
Having been started in 1951 by Tom Ferraro Senior who was a U.S Army military mechanic before going on to work in a similar capacity for several area-based car dealerships prior to starting the business, Tom’s Driving School was created to provide individuals of all ages and backgrounds to learn how to drive safely, effectively and happily, a philosophy that has come to define everything this organization is all about, especially in noting their decades of exceptional work and results.
Since its inception, Tom’s Auto Driving School, which is also known for its unwavering dedication to its customers as well as its dependable services and affordable rates, has been instrumental in helping more than 15 thousand of its clients earn a Connecticut Drivers License through its program, among other notable things.
“It’s all about doing the best job we can do with each person who comes here. This is what my father was all about and we are committed to carrying on that tradition,” said Tom Ferraro Junior, who has been working full time with the business since 1967.
His sister agreed.
“We want to help build a foundation for every driver who comes through here so they always feel happy, safe and confident out on the road,” said Linda Muccio, who started working with her family’s driving school in the early 1980s. “It’s all about ‘IPDE,’ which is to identify, predict, decide and execute with one’s driving.”
By all means, the quality and depth of drivers education offered by Tom and Linda is exceptional on all levels.
Centered around all aspects of the all-important driving experience, Tom’s Driving School offers its clients an extensive range of instructional platforms ranging from group instruction to on-road coaching for teens as well as adults along with off-site road tests, among other things.
Meanwhile, over the years, Tom and Linda have helped scores of individuals establish a base upon which they could drive effectively and also earn a license, having seen families of up to three and four generations go through their school.
“We’ve worked with many people and families over the years and they all mean the world to us, seeing them use what they’ve learned from here and taking it into their lives,” said Linda Muccio. “It means the world, especially when they come back with their children and other family and friends. It’s really very special.”
Since its beginning, Tom’s Driving School seems to be all about a unique and special experience, establishing itself as one of the golden spots of the Greenwich and Fairfield County communities, that is for sure.
Initially, Tom’s Driving School was based at 37 West Putnam Avenue in Greenwich (where the Knights of Columbus is now located), serving as a site where many hundreds of drivers, especially Greenwich and Stamford high school students, learned how to drive and obtained their Connecticut State license.
Several decades later, the business then moved to 73 East Putnam Avenue in Cos Cob, where Splash Car Wash is now based.
At that locale, the business continued to grow, with scores of clients going on to get an excellent drivers’ education as well as earning their Connecticut drivers licenses.
“That was a busy spot and we had a lot of the students from Greenwich High School who would walk there after school for their classes and driving instruction,” said Ferraro.
Since having moved the business down to Riverside, Tom’s Driving School has further gone on to establish itself as a premier driving school on every level as it has also earning the merit as being the longest-running driving school to exist in lower Fairfield County as well.
For Ferraro and Muccio, it’s all about staying in the now and just doing the best job they can with all of their clients on a daily basis.
“We really love what we do and want to have every one who comes through our doors to have a good experience,” said Ferraro. “You have to treat everything about driving right and that’s what we want to instill here.”
Courses offered by Tom’s Driving School, meanwhile, typically run about four and a half weeks with students being given the option to structure their learning around their personal schedules and plans.
Ferraro and Muccio, who are known to be some of the finest on-road driving coaches around, are also dedicated to making sure all of their students feel confident and comfortable out on the road.
“You always have to be very aware of everything and work as a team,” said Muccio. “It’s all about showing each driver what to be aware of and how to navigate the whole process of being out on the road, which is exciting because it’s all about helping to build their understanding and confidence.”
Some of the focal points in working with clients are the whole concept of parking (including backing into spaces, which Ferraro and his sister provide extensive information and diagrams on), navigating rotaries and working in tandem with others on the road so the traffic flows and everything moves accordingly.
“Everyone is unique and all vehicles are a little different, which is makes this process all very interesting,” said Ferraro, adding that “all vehicles turn a little different as well, so that’s also something we always talk about.”
With all the technological changes in cars over the years, Ferraro and Muccio have stayed steadfast in regard to their primary purpose of helping drivers to navigate the roads safely, effectively and confidently.
Moreover, in looking ahead to the future, Ferraro and Muccio said they are excited what’s to come, as they seek to continue to providing the best possible educational services to drivers.
“Driving is a necessity and gives a person a real sense of purpose, freedom and independence, so the information we try to provide people is something they’ve got to know and keep for a long time,” said Ferraro. “We want to make our mark so when people leave us they take that stored information wherever they go along with some good memories.”
For more information, please contact Tom’s Driving School at:
1212 East Putnam Avenue
Riverside, CT 06878
(203) 869-7240
tomsdriving33@aol.com
