Drowsy Driving Prevention Week runs Nov. 1-7 as FMCSA takes comments on two hours-of-service pilots

The points

1. 1NSF's 2026 survey found about 61% of adult U.S. drivers, more than 145 million, have driven drowsy at least once, and nearly 35 million do so at least monthly. About 40% don't recognize the basic warning signs: blinking, head-nodding and lane drift.
2. 2NSF cites an AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimate of 6,400 U.S. deaths a year from drowsy driving, says shift workers are among those at greatest risk, and says drivers who slept only 3 to 5 hours in the last 24 are unfit to drive.
3. 3FMCSA's split sleeper berth notice (Federal Register 2026-20524, published Oct. 7, docket FMCSA-2026-2080) describes a pilot that would cut the longer sleeper period to a minimum of 5 consecutive hours, allowing a 5/5 or 6/4 split. About 256 drivers would take part for 16 weeks. Current rules allow 7/3 up to 8/2.
4. 4A related notice (Federal Register 2026-20476, published Oct. 6, docket FMCSA-2026-2081) covers a pilot letting drivers pause the 14-hour driving window with up to 3 hours off duty, in the sleeper berth or on duty not driving at a pickup or delivery location. It also covers about 256 drivers.
5. 5Comments on both are due Dec. 7. Use the "Submit a public comment" button on each Federal Register page, or regulations.gov/commenton/FMCSA-2026-2080-0001 (split sleeper) and regulations.gov/commenton/FMCSA-2026-2081-0001 (14-hour pause). Include the docket number. Comments are posted publicly, including any personal information.

What we read

NSF, Nov. 1-7 campaign: thensf.org | Fed. Register 2026-20524, Oct. 7: federalregister.gov | Fed. Register 2026-20476, Oct. 6: federalregister.gov