Hillside Driving Lessons for a Highway-Heavy Town

Highways on every side

Hillside has a lot of highway for its size. The Parkway, I-78 and US 22 all pass through the township, Newark Liberty International Airport is about two miles east, and the town borders Newark and Irvington in Essex County. For a learner, that means highway skills are not optional: sooner or later every Hillside driver merges onto one of these roads. We teach those skills gradually, one-on-one in a dual-control car, starting from the township's residential streets. Hillside is one of the closest towns to our Morris Avenue office, about 2.9 miles or 8 minutes when the roads are clear.

Where we practice in Hillside

• The Union Toll Plaza. Heading north on the Parkway, drivers pass the toll plaza in Hillside and almost immediately reach the interchange with I-78. Picking a lane at the plaza and then setting up for the exit is a sequence worth rehearsing.
• US 22 eastbound. Interchanges at Bloy Street and Broad Street, after which the road becomes a four-lane freeway heading into Newark toward the Newark Airport Interchange.
• I-78. Added once merging and lane changes are steady.
• Route 439 and County Route 509. The local arterials for everyday trips.
• Liberty Avenue and Hillside Avenue. The corner where Town Hall, police headquarters and the library stand — good for practising stops, turns and watching for pedestrians.

How we build up to the highways

Nobody goes onto I-78 in their first lesson. Driving lessons in Hillside, NJ usually begin on residential blocks, move to Route 439 and County Route 509, then to US 22 at Bloy Street or Broad Street, and only then to the Parkway and the toll plaza. Each step comes when the one before it feels routine, and the dual-control car means the instructor can step in at any point.

Two licensing centers, equally close

Hillside sits between two licensing centers that are about equally close by road, roughly 3.1 miles and 8 minutes each without traffic: Newark at 228 Frelinghuysen Avenue and Elizabeth at 17 Caldwell Place. The Newark address is also the nearest road test site, so permit paperwork and the road test can happen at the same place. The Rahway road test site, 1140 Woodbridge Road, is the backup at about 19 minutes. Testing is by appointment on weekdays, only the examiner rides along, and our school car can be rented for the day.

No station? No problem

We pick up Hillside High School students after class and adults at home or work anywhere in the 07205 ZIP code. Hillside has no passenger rail station, so commuters who ride from Union station or North Elizabeth station can arrange a lesson that starts near the train. Families near the Woodruff House & Eaton Store Museum, home of the Phil Rizzuto and All Sports Museum, are only a few miles from our office. Every lesson with a Hillside driving instructor includes pickup and drop-off.

Choose your starting point

If you want a driving school in Hillside that takes the Parkway seriously, consider in-car defensive driving lessons; first-timers at 16 start with teen driver education. Our home township of Union and neighbouring Elizabeth have their own pages too.

This school is licensed by the State of New Jersey. License #000184. Fully insured.