SAFETY & POLICY · NEWS BRIEF
FMCSA hours-of-service pilots: comments due December 7
FMCSA has opened public comment on two proposed hours-of-service pilot programs. One would let drivers pause the 14-hour driving window for up to three hours while at a pickup or delivery location. The other would test more flexible sleeper-berth splits. Comments on both are due December 7, 2026.
What FMCSA published
On October 6, 2026, FMCSA published a notice in the Federal Register (91 FR 63640) for a split-duty-period pilot: extending the 14-hour driving window with up to 3 hours of off-duty, sleeper-berth, or on-duty not-driving time, provided it is taken at the location of cargo delivery or pickup. On October 7, a second notice (91 FR 64214) described a flexible sleeper-berth pilot. Today a driver can split the required 10 hours off duty into 8 and 2 or 7 and 3; the pilot would test splits where the longer period is as short as 5 consecutive hours, such as 5 and 5 or 6 and 4.
What it means for operators
Haul Press takeaway: nothing changes on the road yet. Both notices are information-collection requests under the Paperwork Reduction Act — they ask for comment on the data FMCSA would collect, and they do not change the rules. Carriers and drivers who want a say should file by December 7: the 14-hour pause pilot is docket FMCSA-2026-2081 and the sleeper-berth pilot is FMCSA-2026-2080, both on Regulations.gov.
Sources: Connect Express, Nov. 1, 2026, summarizing the Federal Register notices; Federal Register, Oct. 6, 2026, 91 FR 63640; Federal Register, Oct. 7, 2026, 91 FR 64214.