Rethinking Hours of Service: FMCSA Looks at More Flexible Driver Schedules

For years, hours-of-service regulations have been one of the most closely watched areas of trucking compliance.  The rules are designed to prevent driver fatigue, but they can also create challenges when traffic, weather, loading delays, detention, and unpredictable customer schedules interfere with a driver's planned day.

Now, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is taking a closer look at whether drivers can be given more control over when they drive and when they rest—without compromising highway safety.

The agency is advancing two pilot programs focused on alternative approaches to hours-of-service requirements.  The goal is not simply to loosen regulations.  Instead, FMCSA wants to collect real-world data to determine whether greater scheduling flexibility could improve driver working conditions and potentially reduce fatigue.

For trucking companies, drivers and shippers, this could become an important development.

Why Hours-of-Service Flexibility Matters

The current HOS framework establishes limits on driving and on-duty time, including an 11-hour driving limit within a 14-hour window and requirements for drivers to obtain adequate off-duty and sleeper-berth time.  FMCSA's existing rules already provide certain flexibility, including the ability to split qualifying sleeper-berth periods.

But real-world trucking rarely operates according to a perfect schedule.

A driver can arrive at a distribution center at 8 a.m. and spend several hours waiting for a dock.  A construction project can close a highway.  A winter storm can slow traffic for hundreds of miles.  A customer may change an appointment at the last minute.

Those delays don't necessarily mean a driver needs less rest.  In some cases, they mean the driver needs more flexibility to determine when that rest should occur.  That is the issue FMCSA is examining.

FMCSA Is Studying Two Alternatives

Potential FMCSA has been developing two HOS pilot programs: the Flexible Sleeper Berth Pilot Program and the Split Duty Period Pilot Program.

The agency says the pilots are intended to evaluate whether alternative scheduling approaches can provide greater flexibility while maintaining or improving safety.

1. Flexible Sleeper Berth Pilot

The Flexible Sleeper Berth pilot examines whether drivers can divide their required off-duty time differently from the current standard.

Under the proposed pilot structure, participating drivers could receive temporary regulatory relief from certain sleeper-berth requirements.  FMCSA previously outlined a program involving approximately 256 drivers, with technology such as wearable devices being used to collect information about sleep duration, timing and quality.

The important point is that this isn't simply a proposal to let drivers work longer.  Instead, FMCSA is trying to determine whether how rest is scheduled matters just as much as the total amount of rest.

For example, a driver who experiences a lengthy loading delay might be able to use that downtime for meaningful rest rather than having the delay simply consume part of the driver's available operating window.

2. Split Duty Period Pilot

The second pilot looks at the driver's 14-hour duty window.

Under the pilot concept, participating drivers could pause their 14-hour window for a period of time, allowing them to interrupt the workday and resume it later.

FMCSA has described the proposed Split Duty Period pilot as allowing participating drivers to pause the 14-hour window for at least 30 minutes and no more than three hours.  The agency wants to determine whether this additional flexibility can maintain or improve safety.

This could be particularly relevant to drivers dealing with:

• Long loading and unloading delays
• Traffic congestion
• Weather disruptions
• Appointment changes
• Customer facility delays
• Urban delivery schedules
• Unpredictable pickup windows

Instead of treating every delay as lost productivity, a more flexible system could potentially allow drivers to use portions of that downtime more effectively.

Why FMCSA Is Collecting Data Instead of Immediately Changing the Rules

One of the most important aspects of these programs is that FMCSA isn't simply rewriting the HOS regulations overnight.  The agency is testing alternative approaches.

In March 2026, FMCSA said it was seeking 18 drivers for limited six-week tests of study designs and data-collection tools ahead of the larger pilot programs.  That approach is significant because fatigue is complicated.  Two drivers may work the same number of hours but experience very different levels of fatigue depending on:

• When they slept
• When they drove
• The quality of their sleep
• Their work environment
• Circadian timing
• Traffic conditions
• Physical workload
• Loading and unloading delays

Better data could help regulators understand whether a more flexible schedule actually improves safety—or creates unintended risks.

What Could This Mean for Truck Drivers?

For drivers, the potential benefit is more control over their schedules.

One of the biggest frustrations in trucking is that a driver's available operating time can be consumed by circumstances completely outside the driver's control.  Consider a simple example:

A driver arrives at a shipper at 10 a.m. for a scheduled pickup.  The freight isn't ready until 1 p.m.  The driver has spent three hours at the facility but hasn't necessarily been doing productive driving work.  Under a rigid schedule, however, those hours can still affect how the driver's remaining day unfolds.

Greater flexibility could potentially allow drivers to better align their driving and rest periods with actual working conditions.  That could mean:

Less wasted time → better schedule utilization → potentially fewer rushed deliveries → better fatigue management.

The key word is potentially.  The pilots are being conducted precisely because regulators need evidence before determining whether these approaches actually improve safety.

Could This Help With the Driver Shortage?

Potentially, and this may be one of the most important long-term implications.

Driver recruitment and retention remain major challenges for the trucking industry.  Work-life balance, unpredictable schedules, extended time away from home and the difficulty of maintaining consistent sleep schedules can all influence whether drivers remain in the profession.

Greater scheduling flexibility could make trucking more attractive to some drivers.  A driver who has more control over when rest occurs may be able to plan a workday around real-world conditions rather than constantly trying to fit those conditions into a rigid regulatory clock.

That could eventually help carriers:

• Improve driver satisfaction
• Reduce schedule-related stress
• Improve retention
• Reduce unnecessary downtime
• Potentially increase utilization
• Create more predictable delivery schedules

But again, flexibility cannot come at the expense of safety.

A successful HOS modernization effort will need to demonstrate that drivers can have greater control without encouraging excessive driving or inadequate rest.

What Could This Mean for Trucking Companies?

For motor carriers, changes to HOS rules could have significant operational consequences.

Dispatch departments could eventually have more tools for managing difficult shipments.  For example, consider a driver scheduled for a 600-mile delivery.  Heavy congestion causes the driver to lose two hours during the first portion of the trip.  With today's rules, dispatchers must carefully manage the driver's remaining available hours.  If a future regulatory framework allows additional flexibility, dispatchers could potentially build a more efficient schedule around the driver's actual rest and work periods.  That could improve:

Asset utilization

Trucks could potentially spend more time moving freight rather than sitting because of inflexible scheduling constraints.

Delivery reliability

Additional scheduling flexibility could help carriers respond to unexpected delays without immediately creating a cascading series of missed appointments.

Driver retention

More control over schedules could make the job more attractive to experienced drivers.

Dispatch efficiency

Dispatchers could have additional options when dealing with detention, traffic and weather.

Customer service

If carriers can better recover from disruptions, shippers could see fewer late deliveries.

Shippers Should Pay Attention, Too

The potential impact extends well beyond trucking companies. 

Shippers and receivers are a major part of the transportation schedule.  A trucker's day can be significantly affected by what happens at the loading dock.  A three-hour delay at a shipper doesn't simply affect that one shipment.  It can potentially affect:

Pickup → driving schedule → delivery appointment → next load → equipment availability → customer service.

That means shippers should view driver time as a valuable transportation resource.

Even if HOS regulations become more flexible, efficient facilities will still provide an advantage.

Shippers can help carriers by:

• Having freight ready when the truck arrives
• Providing accurate appointment times
• Reducing unnecessary detention
• Communicating changes quickly
• Providing realistic transit expectations
• Coordinating loading and unloading efficiently

More regulatory flexibility shouldn't become an excuse for inefficient supply-chain operations.  Instead, it could provide carriers with another tool for managing the inevitable disruptions that occur in transportation.

Flexibility Does Not Mean "Drive Longer"

This distinction is critical.  The conversation surrounding HOS flexibility can easily become misunderstood as an effort to let truck drivers drive longer hours.  That's not necessarily what FMCSA is studying.

The agency's stated objective is to investigate whether drivers can have more flexibility in how they schedule work and rest while maintaining or improving safety.  That is a fundamentally different concept.

A smarter HOS system would ideally recognize that fatigue management isn't simply a matter of counting hours.  It is also about understanding when those hours occur and how drivers are actually sleeping and working.

Technology Will Be Critical

One of the most interesting aspects of the pilot programs is the use of technology to collect objective data.

FMCSA has previously indicated that participating drivers in the Flexible Sleeper Berth pilot could use wearable technology to gather information related to sleep.  That could give researchers information that traditional paper records and electronic logging devices cannot provide on their own.

Eventually, transportation technology could help carriers better understand:

• Driver fatigue
• Sleep patterns
• Work schedules
• Rest quality
• Driving patterns
• Operational delays

The industry is increasingly moving toward data-driven safety management, and HOS policy could become another area where better data produces better regulations.

What Happens Next?

The current pilots are still research programs.  Motor carriers should not assume that the existing HOS rules have been eliminated or broadly changed.

FMCSA's current HOS requirements remain in effect unless a driver is participating in an applicable pilot, exemption or other authorized program.  FMCSA continues to publish its current HOS requirements and guidance for the industry.

The pilot data could ultimately influence future rulemaking.  If the results show that more flexible scheduling maintains or improves safety, FMCSA could have evidence to support permanent regulatory changes.

If the data shows unacceptable safety risks, the agency could determine that additional flexibility isn't appropriate.  Either way, the trucking industry will be watching closely.

The Bigger Picture for Trucking

The future of trucking regulation may not be about simply adding or removing rules.  It may be about creating smarter rules based on better data.

HOS regulations were created to address a legitimate safety concern: driver fatigue.  That objective isn't going away.  But transportation has changed dramatically.  Today's drivers operate in an environment defined by:

• Electronic logging devices
• Real-time GPS tracking
• Advanced driver-assistance systems
• Digital freight platforms
• Automated dispatching
• Congestion data
• Real-time weather information
• Increasingly sophisticated fleet-management technology

The question is whether regulations can evolve alongside those technologies.  The FMCSA pilot programs represent an opportunity to find out.

For drivers, carriers and shippers, the potential prize is significant: a transportation system that protects drivers and the public while giving trucking companies more flexibility to operate efficiently.

For an industry facing persistent driver-recruitment challenges, rising operating costs and increasingly complex supply chains, that balance could be extremely valuable.

At Road Scholar Transport, safety and reliability remain central to how we move freight.  As trucking regulations evolve, carriers that combine regulatory compliance with experienced drivers, disciplined operations and proactive communication will be better positioned to serve shippers in an increasingly demanding transportation environment.