Parents may be required to certify as many as 50 hours of daytime driving and 10 hours at night. A graduated system requires a young driver to hold his or her permit for a minimum of six months. The time required of the parent or guardian is less daunting when viewed over the entire six months. States can and do allow waivers so a teenager may drive during restricted times to work or to attend school activities. These exemptions don't reduce the restrictions' effectiveness because the increased crash risk to teens at night is largely due to the combination of more difficult driving conditions and distractions caused by teenage passengers.
Young people driving to work are unlikely to have teen passengers.
Another concern is the administrative burden on states that have to issue many waivers. Maryland examined this when it implemented a nighttime driving restriction and found it wasn't a problem. Graduated licensing does delay full licensure, but the evidence indicates it doesn't significantly hinder social activities. Extensive research indicates that high school driver education doesn't lead to lower crash involvement compared with other ways of learning to drive. As indicated in a 1994 Report to Congress by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, experts agree that current novice driver education programs aren't doing a very good job of motivating youngsters to drive safely.