FMCSA lays out two hours-of-service pilots: a 5/5 sleeper split and a 3-hour pause of the 14-hour clock

Neither pilot changes the rules for anyone yet. The two Federal Register notices, published October 6 and October 7, 2026, are information collection requests: FMCSA is telling the public how it plans to gather data from drivers in each study and asking for comments before it sends the plans to the Office of Management and Budget for approval.

Still, the notices give the clearest picture so far of who could take part, what the exemptions would allow, and what participating drivers would have to put up with.

Pilot 1: a more flexible sleeper-berth split

Under the current rule, a property-carrying driver who uses the sleeper berth to get the equivalent of 10 hours off can split that time into one sleeper period of at least 7 hours and a second period of at least 2 hours, as long as the two add up to at least 10. In practice that means a 7/3 or 8/2 split, or anything in between.

The pilot would cut the longer sleeper period to a minimum of 5 consecutive hours. Participating drivers could use a 5/5 split, a 6/4 split, or any combination in between, to reach the 10-hour equivalent.

FMCSA says the pilot comes out of Executive Order 14286, "Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America's Truck Drivers." The notice also points back to a flexible sleeper-berth pilot proposal that the American Trucking Associations and the Minnesota Trucking Association sent the agency in 2013, and to earlier FMCSA research suggesting that split sleep can be restorative when it is used strategically.

Drivers in this study would have to drive the same sleeper-equipped truck they use in their regular job and use the sleeper berth regularly.

• Docket: FMCSA-2026-2080

Pilot 2: pausing the 14-hour driving window

Under the current rule, a property-carrying driver cannot drive after the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, and breaks taken during that window do not stop the clock.

The second pilot would let drivers extend the 14-hour window with up to 3 hours of off-duty time, sleeper-berth time, or on-duty/not-driving time. The on-duty/not-driving time would count toward the pause only if it is spent at the place where cargo is delivered or picked up. FMCSA calls this a split duty period.

That last point matters. FMCSA floated a 30-minute to 3-hour off-duty pause in a 2019 proposal, then left it out of the 2020 hours-of-service final rule after commenters warned drivers could be pressured to use it for the benefit of carriers, shippers or receivers. A pilot proposed in September 2020 never started, and it would not have allowed any on-duty time to count toward a pause. The new plan specifically names long detention at shippers and receivers as one of the situations it is meant to address.

• Docket: FMCSA-2026-2081

Who could take part

Both pilots use the same eligibility rules. A carrier would need to:

• hold interstate operating authority and registration, and the required minimum insurance where it applies
• not be rated a high-risk or moderate-risk carrier under FMCSA's 2016 definition
• not hold an Unsatisfactory safety rating
• have no FMCSA enforcement actions in the past three years
• have driver and vehicle out-of-service rates no higher than the national averages

FMCSA says unpaid civil penalties could also keep a carrier out.

Drivers would need a valid CDL and a current medical certificate from an examiner on the National Registry. A driver would be ineligible if he or she appears in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, even after finishing the return-to-duty process, or if the driver had a license suspended, revoked or cancelled, or was disqualified for a listed offense, in the two years before joining. Owner-operators can certify themselves.

What participants would do

Each study would enroll about 256 drivers for 16 weeks. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute would collect their records of duty status. Drivers would also wear a wrist activity monitor, take short reaction-time tests, rate their own sleepiness, fill out surveys before and after the study, and drive with a telematics device installed.

The studies compare the same drivers working under the current rules and under the exemption. FMCSA estimates the work at about 16.7 hours per driver over the 16 weeks.

How to comment

Comments on either notice are due by December 7, 2026. They can be filed at regulations.gov under the docket numbers above, or by mail, hand delivery or fax as listed in the notices. FMCSA is asking specifically whether the data collection is needed, whether its time estimates are accurate, and how the burden on drivers could be reduced. All comments are posted publicly, including any personal information included in them.

The notices do not give a start date for either pilot or say when carriers could begin applying.