Split Your Sleeper Berth, Pause Your 14-Hour Clock: FMCSA's HOS Pilot Programs Explained

Every trucker knows the problem: you're stuck at a shipper for three hours, and your 14-hour clock keeps running whether you're driving or not. FMCSA is getting ready to test two fixes. Small pre-tests ran this spring and summer, and the full pilots are set to start in 2027 with 512 drivers. Here's what's being tested, who can take part, and what it means for everyone else.

Pilot 1: Flexible sleeper berth

Today, a split must be at least 7 hours in the sleeper berth plus at least 2 more hours, either 8/2 or 7/3. The pilot loosens that:

• Split your 10 hours off duty into any two periods that add up to at least 10 hours.
• One period must be at least 5 hours in a row in the sleeper berth.
• That allows splits like 6/4 and 5/5, which drivers say fit real life better, such as sleeping when you're tired instead of when the rule says.

Pilot 2: Split duty period (pause the 14)

• Pause the 14-hour driving window for 30 minutes to 3 hours a day.
• Qualifying time can be off duty, in the sleeper berth, or on duty but not driving at a pickup or delivery location.
• The goal is to keep detention, traffic and bad weather from burning your day. Three hours of waiting at a dock wouldn't cost you three hours of driving time.

Timeline

Can you join? What does it pay?

Each pilot will enroll about 256 drivers for 4 months. Drivers can earn up to $1,600 for completing all study tasks. According to Overdrive, FMCSA's proposed requirements include:

• Drivers: a valid CDL and medical certificate; no prohibited status in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, even if you finished return-to-duty; and no license suspension, revocation or disqualifying conviction in the past 2 years.
• Carriers: proper interstate authority and insurance, no Unsatisfactory rating, no FMCSA enforcement actions in the past 3 years, out-of-service rates at or below the national average, and permission for the driver to take part. Independent owner-operators can apply.
• What you agree to: wearing a wrist sleep tracker, taking short alertness tests, rating your sleepiness, sharing your logs with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and running a telematics device that records driving performance.

To get on the list, FMCSA asks drivers and carriers to email their contact information to pilots@dot.gov.

The concern: who controls the pause?

Safety groups worry these rules could be used against drivers. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety says pausing the clock could stretch a workday from 14 hours to as long as 17, and that FMCSA should study detention and carrier pressure first. FMCSA says it will monitor shippers during the pilot to make sure the flexibility doesn't lead to longer detention or exploitation. Werner told the agency that more flexible rules could improve safety by letting drivers rest when they need to.

If you join, remember that the pause is supposed to be your choice. A dispatcher can't make you drive tired. The fatigue rule (49 CFR 392.3) still applies.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a 6/4 split now if my carrier says it's OK? No. Only enrolled pilot drivers operating under the exemption can. Anyone else could get a log violation.

Will these become permanent rules? Not automatically. FMCSA would have to use the pilot data to propose a new rule, which takes public comment and usually years.

Does the pause help hourly or mileage pay? It doesn't pay you for waiting. It only protects driving time later in the day. Ask your carrier how it pays detention. Our guide to job types explains how pay differs.

Bottom line

FMCSA is about to run its biggest real-world test of flexible hours in years. If you have a clean record and want a say in the future of HOS, emailing pilots@dot.gov costs nothing, and the study pays up to $1,600. Everyone else should keep running the current rules until a final rule says otherwise. Compare carriers in our company directory.