FMCSA tests giving truckers power to pause 14-hour clock 

The agency said the recently completed pre-tests were intended to evaluate procedures, data collection methods and driver participation requirements before expanding the programs next year.

Each pilot is expected to enroll 256 drivers, for a total of 512 participants. Drivers will participate for four months and can receive up to $1,600 for completing all study requirements.

Split-duty pilot could pause 14-hour clock

The Split Duty Period Pilot Program is aimed at one of the most consequential restrictions in federal hours-of-service regulations: the 14-hour driving window.

Under the pilot, participating drivers would be allowed to pause that window for up to three hours per day while in a qualifying non-driving status.

Qualifying periods could include off-duty or sleeper berth time, as well as on-duty time spent at a pickup or delivery location.

FMCSA said the flexibility could give drivers more ability to wait out heavy traffic or severe weather, account for detention time at customer facilities, or take a break without having the time count against their available driving window.

The agency also said it plans to monitor shippers during the pilot to ensure that the added flexibility does not result in increased detention or exploitation of drivers.

FMCSA tested the concept from May 18 through July 17 with nine drivers from three motor carriers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ohio. The drivers participated for six weeks and received $600.

When FMCSA proposed reviving the Split Duty Period pilot last year, the agency said the program could help determine whether allowing drivers to pause the 14-hour clock could reduce fatigue and provide more flexibility around real-world operating conditions.

Related: Regulators take another swing at easing trucker work rules

Safety advocates push back

The proposal has drawn opposition from highway safety advocates who say FMCSA should address the underlying causes of excessive detention rather than lengthening a driver’s workday.

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety criticized the Split Duty Period proposal during the public comment period in November 2025.

“The agency should be examining problems with detention time instead of proposing this dangerous and misguided initiative,” the organization wrote in comments filed with FMCSA.

The group argued that FMCSA should instead study detention time and the coercion of drivers as they relate to scheduling and fatigue. It also questioned whether the agency had produced sufficient evidence showing that allowing carriers to pause the on-duty clock would improve safety.

The safety group noted that the pilot could effectively stretch a driver’s workday from 14 hours to as long as 17 hours.

Some trucking companies have taken the opposite view.

Werner Enterprises previously told FMCSA that more flexible hours-of-service rules could improve safety by allowing drivers to take breaks when necessary instead of adhering to schedules that may not reflect real-world conditions.

The carrier said additional flexibility could reduce pressure on drivers during inclement weather and peak traffic periods or when a driver is not feeling well.

Related: Safety group opposes extending truckers’ workday

Sleeper berth pilot tests additional options

FMCSA’s second initiative, the Flexible Sleeper Berth Pilot Program, will test alternative ways of dividing a driver’s required rest period.

Participating drivers will be able to split their off-duty time into two periods in any combination as long as the periods total at least 10 hours and one includes at least five consecutive hours in the sleeper berth.

The agency conducted its pre-test from April 1 through June 11 with nine drivers from three motor carriers in Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. Those drivers also participated for six weeks and received $600.

FMCSA has explored similar changes before without ultimately rewriting hours-of-service regulations. An attempt in 2020 to ease the 14-hour restrictions drew opposition from labor and safety groups, while sleeper berth pilot efforts launched in 2017 and 2021 did not advance beyond the public comment stage.

This time, however, the programs have advanced beyond the comment stage and into real-world pre-testing.

FMCSA said it is reviewing the results and will use the findings to refine both programs before expanding them to hundreds of drivers in 2027.

Why it matters: The pilot programs could provide the data the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrations needs to pursue some of the most significant changes to truck driver hours-of-service flexibility in years, potentially reshaping how drivers manage detention, traffic, weather and rest without changing the underlying 11-hour driving limit.