Driving school rolls with times

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Apr 25, 2003 by Dickinson, Casey J

SYRACUSE - Four decades after Andrew W. Branch opened his driving school, the cars look different, but the basic concepts remain the same, says his son Deraux Branch, president and chief financial officer of Branch's Driving School. While the basics remain newly named concepts such as road rage and sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) have entered the curriculum for Branch's students.

Andrew Branch started the company in 1963, after passing the state drivinginstructors' examination and mounting a "Branch's Driving School" sign atop his car. He had decided to enter the business after success-fully teaching his mother how to drive. In the early 1960s, African-American driving instructors were a rare site in Syracuse, explains Deraux Branch.

"The police followed my dad until they were satisfied that he was indeed Mr. Branch and he owned a driving school," Branch recalls.

Since starting from a single employee, Branch's has grown to include a main office in downtown Syracuse as well as satellite offices in area malls and churches.

"We wanted to take the driving school to the community in the north, south, east, and west," says Branch.

The company provides the five-hour pre-licensing course, road instruction, and the sixhour safety course for licensed drivers. As required by state law, the company's fleet is equipped with a passenger's side brake pedal.

Branch's works with a number

of community groups, offering training to members of groups such as the Food Bank of Central New York. Last year, Branch's contributed 7,000 pounds of canned goods through a training discount program that encourages donations to the Food Bank.

Branch's Driving School employs 14 part-time and four full-time driving instructors. The staff alternates between classroom and road instruction. The popularity of SUVs has prompted Branch's to add a special SUV drivers course. The course addresses the potentially deadly handling differences between cars and the higher SUVs.

From the 1960s through the 1980s, Branch's occupied leased space above the Arthur Murray dance studio on West Genesee Street. In 1991, the company purchased nearby 212 N. Franklin St. for $101,500 and spent $20,000 improving the two-story, property. Each floor of Branch's building covers 1,600 square feet.

Branch's serves about 5,000 clients each year. The company's Web site gets visits from around the world, says Branch, thanks to Syracuse University's international appeal.

The flow of SU students helps supplement the school's local client base, he adds.

"We teach students from all over the globe," says Branch.

Neither father nor son has tied his financial lifeline to the school. The elder Branch worked for 35 years as a laboratory technical specialist at Upstate Medical

University while his son is a vice president at HSBC Bank in addition to his role at the school. The company's annual revenue is approximately $275,000. Training slows down during the winter months, when drivers should be learning how to handle snow-slicked Central New York roads, says Branch.

With more than two decades as a driving instructor, Branch has yet to encounter a student who couldn't learn to drive.

The oldest student Branch can recall was a 78 year-old widow who decided late in life to purchase a car,

He spent about four months teaching the woman the fundamentals of driving as well as minor points such as how to get gasoline or park at a store. She successfully completed her road test and still keeps in touch.

"She still drives," says Branch. "Every Christmas she sends me a card and lets me know she hasn't had any accidents."

Good habits aren't evident in all the drivers Branch sees. On his nightly drive home he notices drivers racing for yellow lights, paying more attention to the telephone than the road, or omitting turn signals.

Some of these habits are addressed in the driver-training films that-are now found on DVD, though the subjects have changed with state-training preferences.

"We spend an hour on road rage now," says Branch.