About Start Smart Driving Academy

Start Smart Driving Academy is a driving school serving students in the Southwest Metro Denver area. Located in Lakewood, Colorado, Start Smart Driving Academy helps drivers, both new as well as returning-to-the-road, develop the confidence, skill, and awareness for a lifetime of safe driving. At Start Smart Driving Academy, we believe that we have a very important challenge. This challenge is to teach people how to be safe and courteous drivers. We take this critical challenge very seriously as we realize that being a safe driver could be a matter of saving lives. Gary and Vachelle Voss started Start Smart Driving Academy in order to teach teenagers, adults, and seniors how to be safe drivers. We are a family owned and operated driving school which focuses on providing personalized driving instruction. With the significant population growth in the Denver metro area, we believe that teaching the importance of safe driving skills has become a high priority as the number of vehicles on the roads has increased while the road infrastructure has not grown as fast. This population boom has created more vehicles with less space, which is an instant recipe for accidents.

Gary Voss

Lead Instructor

Gary is the lead instructor at Start Smart Driving Academy.
Gary is a current Colorado Class A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) holder and has held this license since 1993. Formerly a truck driver for over 7 years, he has driven challenging loads in all of the lower-48 states, and in every major city.

Prior to creating Start Smart Driving Academy with his wife Vachelle, Gary taught individuals the necessary skills to obtain their Class A and Class B CDL licenses for driving dump trucks.

Gary is proud to claim an accident free driving career…and it wasn’t by chance, but instead, by being a skilled, cautious driver. During his many cross-country trips, Gary saw many horrific traffic accidents impacting drivers and passengers of all ages. He truly appreciates the importance of safety behind the wheel of any moving vehicle and is driven to help create a generation of safer drivers.

Gary is a State of Colorado Certified Third-Party Tester, teaches behind the wheel lessons and is also a classroom instructor at Start Smart Driving Academy.

In his free time, Gary is learning how to become a beekeeper, enjoys gardening as well as hanging out with his two pups.

Vachelle Voss

Business Manager

Vachelle is in charge of the back-office operations of Start Smart Driving Academy. Vachelle earned a masters degree in Accounting and she believes in the value of education.

Vachelle is a State of Colorado Certified Third-Party Tester and is also a classroom instructor at Start Smart Driving Academy.

In her free-time, Vachelle enjoys spending time riding her horse Paisley. Gary taught Vachelle how to safely transport her horse around town as well as across multi-state trail-riding excursions utilizing her bumper pull and gooseneck horse trailers.

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