FMCSA advances split‑sleeper berth pilot with 256‑driver trial
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration moved closer to launching a split‑sleeper berth pilot that could allow up to 256 drivers to test flexible off‑duty splits. Participants would receive $1,600 each and could try 5‑5 or 6‑4 sleeper‑berth splits if the minimum berth period falls from seven to five hours.
The pilot would enroll up to 256 commercial motor vehicle drivers who would record how they split their required 10 hours off duty each day for 16 weeks. Participants would receive a flat $1,600 stipend for completing the study, as noted in a Department of Transportation press release from late August. During the trial they could choose any split of sleeper berth time, including the proposed 5‑5 or 6‑4 arrangements, if the minimum berth period is lowered from seven to five hours. Comments on the information collection plan are being accepted until December 7, after a Federal Register notice issued Wednesday opened the process. The effort follows a September 2025 notice that first sought comment on changing the split sleeper berth rule and an April 2025 executive order directing the Secretary of Transportation to improve truck drivers’ working conditions. Earlier work on the idea dates to a 2013 joint submission by the American Trucking Associations and the Minnesota Trucking Association, after FMCSA listening sessions in 2010 and the 2011 Hours of Service rule that excluded splits beyond 7‑3. Under the existing hours‑of‑service rule, drivers may split their 10 hours off duty only as a 7‑hour sleeper berth period plus a 2‑hour period, or the reverse 8‑2 split.
“The notice published Wednesday requests comments on the information collection the FMCSA will seek through the pilot,” Chris Eckhart, partner at the trucking‑focused Scopelitis law firm said.
The September 2025 Federal Register notice described the proposal as a notification of proposed pilot program and request for comments on split sleeper berth flexibility. It built on an April 2025 executive o
What we know
The program needs as many as 256 volunteers.
Drivers will receive $1,600 for their participation.
The pilot program involves giving drivers flexibility over 16 weeks to spend their 10 off‑duty hours in the sleeper berth as they choose.
The comment period is open until December 7.
Those new splits would become possible if the minimum length of the required sleeper berth period drops to five hours from seven.