Dive Brief:
- The Department of Transportation will launch two pilots programs to give truckers more hours of service flexibility, according to a press release Monday, in an effort to study industry regulations.
- One change would allow a 30-minute to three-hour pause of the 14-hour on-duty period. Another measure would allow configurations of 6/4 and 5/5 rest periods in and out of a sleeper berth.
- Development of the initiatives will begin in early 2026, with “more than 500 commercial truck drivers expected to participate," the DOT said. Each pilot would cap the number of eligible participants to approximately 256 people with CDLs, according to proposed rules set to officially publish Wednesday.
Dive Insight:
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has previously considered regulatory changes of driving window regulations to give drivers more control over their schedules — but stopped short in previous pilot proposals
In 2020, the agency adjusted hours of service rules to provide greater flexibility for commercial drivers and teams. That included a teams driver modification to decrease a longer-rest period requirement from eight hours in a sleeper berth to seven hours as part of a 10-hour off duty period.
But other pilot program attempts in 2020 and 2021 went nowhere, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association recently noted. EVP Lewie Pugh said in testimony before Congress how greater flexibility for rest could make the roads safer.
“A Split Duty Period would not increase maximum driving time, maximum on-duty time, or decrease minimum off-duty rest periods between shifts,” Pugh’s prepared remarks said. “Additionally, drivers would have more chances to get sufficient rest and would not be as pressured to ‘beat the 14-hour clock.’”
The DOT’s revisit of the issue comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April titled “Enforcing Commonsense Rules of the Road for America’s Truck Drivers.” That directed DOT Secretary Sean Duffy to take "actions to improve the working conditions of America’s truck drivers."
Subsequently, Duffy announced a "Pro-Trucker Package" in June that crushed a speed limiter mandate proposal and highlighted money going toward truck parking, among other measures.
The FMCSA is developing the hours of service pilot programs, which will receive public comment for 60 days.
