Retired cop, wife run driving school

Jeff Caldwell and his wife, Sheri, own and operate Professional Driving Systems in Kettering.

Jeff retired in 2009 from the Kettering Police Department, where he was a public information officer, traffic homicide investigator and motorcycle cop.

The Caldwells live in Miami Twp.

What sets PDS apart from other driving schools is the staff: All their behind-the-wheel instructors are either retired or active police officers.

Officers from area departments bring a level of experience and knowledge that only a police officer can bring. Jeff said the officers are very engaged while their students are behind the wheel: “All these instructors have seen the results of bad driving, so they are very interested in making sure our students learn good driving habits.”

Schools may be out for summer, but PDS is busier than ever. The Caldwells know this season is prime time for students to complete in-class and behind-the-wheel driving instruction. So they have ramped up operations to handle an influx of students.

DPS is a driving school, but Jeff says a more appropriate term for what they offer is probably a “driving training facility.” In addition to teen driving training, PDS offers adult driver training, skid control training, motorcycle training, emergency vehicle training and corporate driver training. “We’ve also given training on recreational vehicles (RVs),” Jeff said.

Another distinction for PDS is its four-acre technical driving range where a lot of the advanced training, including motorcycle training, takes place. They also conduct emergency vehicle operation training.

The Caldwells didn’t found PDS; rather, it was founded by two police officers who eventually sold the business to the Caldwells.

Sheri brings office experience and organization to balance her husband’s strong connections with law enforcement. Their daughter Kelly works there along with other family members.

“We’re also the only school in the area that offers the skid training, which uses a specially designed car on a hydraulic platform to give the student the feeling of skidding and how to handle the situation,” Jeff said. “The car simulates wet, snowy and icy road conditions.”

He said that PDS is also one of two schools in Ohio certified to do a court-ordered advanced juvenile driver improvement program that is for teen drivers with two or more traffic offenses.

Jeff says that although PDS is privately owned, they are strictly overseen by the Ohio Department of Public Safety. “The Ohio Revised Code (ORC) is our guide. But I like to think we go above and beyond,” Jeff said.

Sheri said they debrief parents after their children have completed instruction. “We even offer a free parent class each month, because the best learning comes from the student and the parents being engaged in the process together,” she said.