About Trussell Driving School

Our team of outstanding driving instructors teach adults and teens how to drive and build confidence behind-the-wheel.

Trussell Driving School (The Drive Coach) was established in 2011 by John Trussell, a former public school educator and coach with 30+ years of experience, to provide quality instruction in both driver education and behind-the-wheel training. The staff of experienced professionals at Trussell Driving School has 65+ years of experience. This experienced staff has designed a program that utilizes traffic safety education to create an effective and powerful learning experience.

Our professional instructors have a wealth of experience in the traffic education field, including classroom driver education, behind-the-wheel training, and formal in-school education. For this reason, Trussell Driving School has been developed to ensure both quality and effective training through the best mediums available today. We serve students primarily in Horry, Florence, and Marion counties as well as Summerville, but all SC students are accepted.

The required behind-the-wheel instruction is typically completed in several 2-hour sessions.
Driving times are convenient for high school students' busy schedules. Pick-up and drop-off can be made from home, school, or other designated points (*some restrictions may apply).
We are patient and experienced, specializing in nervous students and those with other challenges.
Driving lessons can begin before the classroom session if the student has pre-registered and our schedule permits.

Meet Our Team

Instructors are state-certified and fully insured. They have all passed a SLED background check.

Harris Trussell

Harris is the operations manager for Trussell Driving School. Harris is a former driver for a national waste management company. Harris has driven in 42 states and has a wealth of miles behind him and experience. Harris is extremely patient and relates well to new drivers during this very important time in their lives.

Bobby Jones

Bobby has been the lead driver education instructor at South Florence High School for the past decade. He is still teaching and coaching with nearly 30 years of experience in education.

Heather Gaston

Heather is an educator at South Florence High School. She loves working with young people and not only serves as a behind-the-wheel instructor but also completes much of the office duties in our Florence office.

Kristina Tonkinson

Before training students for Trussell Driving School, Kristina trained new drivers for a medical transport company in Ohio. She was the local coordinator responsible for teaching safe driving practices. After relocating to Little River, she is now a behind-the-wheel instructor and third-party tester for TDS.

Jeremy Trussell

Jeremy has 24 years in the educational field with 21 years working in Florence One Schools. His goal is to prepare young people for the daily challenges of driving to be collision-free for life.

Kristen Henley

After having her two children come through TDS, Kristen became trained to teach behind-the-wheel instructing to students. Having been an experienced educator for Horry County Schools, her expertise in teaching was a welcomed addition to our team.

Greg Elliott

Currently a teacher/former basketball coach at Summerville High School, Greg has been teaching social studies and driver education for 25+ years. He now brings that expertise to the private sector of driver education.

Ross Isom

Ross is a third-party tester and administrative assistant in Florence and Horry County. He formerly worked at the SCDMV for 12 years.

Jon Gaston

Jon has been a South Florence High School teacher for the past 13 years. He really enjoys working with teenagers and serving as an instructor for the behind-the-wheel training, thus providing him with another opportunity to do what he loves. He also has a CDL and transports the South Florence athletic teams to sporting events during the school year. Jon’s mission is to help his students develop the skills necessary to become confident drivers and give them the knowledge to be safe on the road.

Chris Vassey

Chris has taught driver education for 19 years of his 33-year teaching/coaching career. He has recently retired from NMB High School, where he coached football. He enjoys teaching driver education and takes pride in seeing his students become accomplished drivers.

Stephanie Webb

Stephanie strives to provide a positive, relaxed environment for her driving students. After homeschooling her three children for several years and working as an educational therapist in a local school, she enjoys teaching in all aspects. Learning should be fun!

William Richburg

William managed multiple industrial sales companies across SC, NC, and GA for 30 years with 60+ employees. Driving 40k+ miles per year, he also coached baseball at South Florence High School for eight years. He is very patient with teaching teenagers how to operate a vehicle safely.

Lynn Leviner-Kelley

Lynn's goal is to equip new drivers with the skills and confidence for safe driving. She spent many years in healthcare, supervising, training, and motivating employees. She uses that experience and a calm demeanor to instruct students of all ages.

Doug Stuart

Doug is a retired educator and coach with 37 years of experience. He graduated from Shepherd University with a degree in physical education and driver education. After retiring, Doug and his wife moved to Little River, SC. He has worked for Trussell Driving School since 2022. He greatly enjoys helping student drivers build their confidence during behind-the-wheel instruction. In his spare time, Doug enjoys going to the beach, playing pickleball, and watching Penn State football.