Truck drivers could eventually have more flexibility in how they divide sleeper-berth time and manage delays at shipping and receiving facilities as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) advances two hours-of-service pilot programs.

The agency submitted formal information collection requests to the White House Office of Management and Budget in early October, outlining how it plans to study the proposed changes and who will qualify to participate. Both programs will examine whether greater scheduling flexibility can improve working conditions while maintaining safe driving performance.

The proposals address two different parts of the current hours-of-service rules. One would test additional ways to split the required rest period, while the other would allow qualifying non-driving time at pickup and delivery locations to pause the 14-hour driving window.

Each study is expected to include approximately 256 participants, with drivers taking part for 16 weeks. FMCSA is also accepting public comments on both proposals through December 7, 2026.

More Options for Splitting Sleeper-Berth Time

Current federal regulations allow qualifying drivers to divide their required rest into two periods, provided one includes at least seven consecutive hours in the sleeper berth and the other includes at least two hours. The two periods must total at least 10 hours.

FMCSA’s proposed pilot would examine additional arrangements, including 6/4 and 5/5 splits. These alternatives would give participating truckers more options for arranging rest around their schedules without changing the total rest time required.

For example, a driver using a 5/5 split could divide the required 10 hours into two equal qualifying periods rather than meeting the existing seven-hour sleeper-berth minimum. The study would examine how these different arrangements affect sleep, fatigue, driving performance and overall working conditions.

Researchers will compare participants’ experiences under existing HOS regulations with their experiences operating under the temporary exemptions. The findings could help FMCSA determine whether additional sleeper-berth options should receive further consideration.

Testing a Pause to the 14-Hour Driving Window

The second pilot focuses on time spent at cargo pickup and delivery locations, where delays can reduce the hours available to complete a trip.

Under current HOS regulations, the 14-hour driving window generally continues running once it begins, even when a trucker spends several hours waiting to be loaded or unloaded. That time can leave fewer available driving hours later in the day, regardless of how much actual driving occurred.

FMCSA’s split-duty proposal would allow approved participants to pause the 14-hour window for qualifying periods ranging from 30 minutes to three hours. The time could be recorded as off-duty, sleeper-berth or on-duty/not-driving, provided it occurs at a cargo pickup or delivery location.

A driver delayed for two hours at a receiver, for instance, could potentially exclude that qualifying period from the 14-hour calculation under the pilot exemption. The proposal would not automatically extend the separate 11-hour driving limit, and the exemption would apply only to approved study participants.

By comparing driving performance and fatigue under the existing rules and the proposed exemption, FMCSA hopes to better understand whether a clock-pause option could accommodate loading and unloading delays without introducing additional safety risks.

How FMCSA Will Evaluate the Results

The studies will rely on more than participants’ descriptions of their schedules. FMCSA plans to collect information about sleep, alertness, duty status and driving performance throughout the research period.

Drivers will complete surveys before and after participating, provide sleepiness ratings and undergo psychomotor vigilance testing, which measures alertness and reaction time. Wrist-worn actigraphy devices will also help researchers examine sleep and rest patterns.

Records of duty status and non-intrusive telematics equipment will provide additional information about work schedules, driving activity and the use of the exemptions. With carrier permission, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute will collect participating drivers’ duty-status records during the study.

Using several sources of information will allow researchers to examine how the proposed flexibility is actually used and whether changes in scheduling are associated with differences in fatigue or driving performance.

Who Can Participate in the Pilot Programs?

FMCSA’s proposed eligibility requirements apply to both motor carriers and individual drivers. Independent owner-operators must meet the applicable requirements for each.

Participating carriers must hold the necessary interstate operating authority and registration, maintain required financial responsibility and satisfy the agency’s safety criteria.

Carriers will be ineligible if they:

• Are classified as high- or moderate-risk carriers.
• Hold an Unsatisfactory safety rating.
• Have been subject to FMCSA enforcement actions within the previous three years.
• Have driver or vehicle out-of-service rates above the national average.

Approved carriers must also authorize participation, agree to the study procedures and permit researchers to collect the required duty-status information. They must allow participating employees to operate under the applicable temporary exemptions.

Individual applicants must hold a valid commercial driver’s license and maintain a valid medical certificate issued by a medical examiner listed on FMCSA’s National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. They must also work for an approved participating carrier or qualify as an independent owner-operator.

FMCSA will review licensing and safety records as part of the eligibility process. Under the proposed criteria, drivers identified in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse will be excluded regardless of whether they have completed the return-to-duty process.

Applicants will also be ineligible if their licenses were suspended, revoked or canceled during the preceding two years, or if they were disqualified following a conviction for an offense covered by federal commercial driver disqualification regulations during that period.

Those selected must agree to follow all study procedures, including the use of monitoring equipment and the release of specified information to FMCSA for research purposes.

Drivers Can Comment on Both Proposals Through December 7

FMCSA is seeking public feedback on the information it plans to collect during the two studies. Comments may address whether the proposed research is necessary, whether the estimated reporting requirements are reasonable and how the agency could improve the quality of the information while limiting the burden on participants.

Because the programs are being reviewed separately, each has its own public comment submission page.

Submit comments on the proposed HOS pilots:

• Sleeper-berth flexibility pilot: Submit a public comment
• Split-duty and 14-hour clock-pause pilot: Submit a public comment

Both comment periods are scheduled to close December 7, 2026. Additional details about the research plans and eligibility requirements are available in the sleeper-berth Federal Register notice and the split-duty Federal Register notice.

The programs remain in the research stage, meaning the proposed flexibility is not yet available to truckers outside the approved studies. FMCSA will use the information collected to evaluate whether either approach warrants further consideration as a potential change to federal hours-of-service regulations.

The TDUSA editorial team creates practical, driver focused content covering trucking news, industry updates, safety, regulations, and career information for professional truck drivers across the United States. Each article is built to reflect real world experience, industry developments, and information drivers can use on and off the road.

Last Updated: October 12, 2026

Source: Overdrive