If you have ever watched your 14-hour clock burn down while you sat at a dealer lot or a dock waiting to get loaded, Washington is finally studying the exact problem that cost you that day.
The news
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has opened public comment on two proposed hours-of-service pilot programs — and comments on both are due December 7, 2026.
The first pilot, published October 6 in the Federal Register (91 FR 63640), would let participating drivers pause the 14-hour driving window for up to 3 hours — off duty, sleeper berth, or on duty not driving — as long as the pause is taken at the location of a pickup or delivery. About 256 drivers would take part.
The second pilot, published October 7 (91 FR 64214), would test more flexible sleeper berth splits. Today you can split your 10 hours off duty 8-and-2 or 7-and-3. The pilot would test splits where the longer break is as short as 5 consecutive hours — think 5-and-5 or 6-and-4. That study would also run about 256 drivers.
One honest detail: both notices are information-collection requests. They ask for comment on the data FMCSA would collect. Nothing changes on the road yet — the current rules still apply to every load: drive up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off, and no driving after the 14th hour. Transport Topics reported October 30 that FMCSA Chief Safety Officer Steve Dowling told an industry audience on October 28 the agency will focus on hours-of-service flexibility — so this is a stated priority, not a back-burner idea.
What this means for car haulers
Dock time is the car hauler’s clock killer. Waiting to load or unload counts as on-duty time, and the 14-hour window keeps running either way. A three-hour hold at one pickup can kill the rest of the day’s appointments. A pause that only works at a pickup or delivery location is written for exactly that pain — dealer lots, auctions, and terminals are where haulers bleed hours.
A 5-and-5 split fits how haulers actually rest. Loading schedules, auction releases, and delivery windows rarely line up with an 8-hour block. Splitting rest into two real sleeps could mean better rest on the schedule the freight actually runs — if the data backs it up, which is what the pilot is for.
Your drivers’ voices carry weight here — if they file them. FMCSA is taking comments until December 7 on Regulations.gov: docket FMCSA-2026-2081 for the 14-hour pause pilot and FMCSA-2026-2080 for the sleeper berth pilot. A pilot FMCSA proposed back in 2019 got left out of the 2020 final rule partly over concerns drivers would be pressured to use a pause instead of resting — real comments from real drivers are how the agency tells the difference between flexibility and abuse. If you run drivers, this is also a driver recruiting issue: schedules that respect rest are schedules drivers stay for.
Don’t plan loads on rules that don’t exist yet. Until a pilot runs and a rule changes, dispatch to the clock you have. Chasing appointments on a pause that isn’t legal yet is how clean records get violations.
The bottom line
Nothing is legal today that wasn’t legal yesterday — but for the first time in years, FMCSA is formally studying the two flexibility ideas haulers ask about most: pausing the clock at the dock, and splitting sleep 5-and-5. The comment window closes December 7, 2026. Say your piece, keep running legal, and let the data make the case.
Running car hauler loads and need drivers who run legal and stay? See our CDL driver opportunities — or call Victor at 954-947-3096.
Sources: Connect Express, “FMCSA HOS Pilots: 14-Hour Pause, 5/5 Split” (November 1, 2026) — https://connectexpressllc.com/news/fmcsa-hos-pilot-programs/ , summarizing Federal Register notices 91 FR 63640 (October 6, 2026; docket FMCSA-2026-2081) and 91 FR 64214 (October 7, 2026; docket FMCSA-2026-2080), and Transport Topics (October 30, 2026). Both pilots are proposals under comment; current hours-of-service rules under 49 CFR 395 remain in effect.
