Test the 5/5 Sleeper Split, but Test It on the Drivers Who'll Actually Use It
· Safety · Nov 1 · By Truker Desk
Drowsy Driving Prevention Week starts today, and FMCSA is taking comments until Dec. 7 on a pilot that would let drivers split sleeper time 5/5 or 6/4. More flexibility is worth testing. But a study built on volunteers from the cleanest carriers could make the split look safer than it will be for everyone else.
Opinion from Truker Desk. This is commentary, not a news brief.
Today is the first day of the National Sleep Foundation's Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, which runs Nov. 1 to 7 (NSF). It lands while FMCSA is asking for comments on a study that goes right to the question every long-haul driver lives with: when are you allowed to sleep?
The study is a pilot program that would let drivers split their sleeper-berth time more flexibly. We think it's worth doing. We also think the way it's designed could tilt the answer before the first driver logs on.
What's on the table
Right now, a driver using the sleeper-berth option has to get at least 10 hours off, split into one period of at least 7 hours in the berth and another of at least 2 hours. In practice that's a 7/3 or 8/2 split, or anything between (Federal Register 2026-20524).
The pilot would cut the long period to as little as 5 consecutive hours, allowing a 5/5 or 6/4 split. About 256 drivers would take part for 16 weeks. FMCSA would track them with sleepiness ratings, reaction-time tests, a wrist sleep tracker, their logs and a telematics device, comparing the same drivers under current rules and under the exemption (FR 2026-20524).
A second pilot would let drivers pause the 14-hour clock for up to 3 hours, but only when that time is taken at a pickup or delivery location (Federal Register 2026-20476). Comments on both close Dec. 7.
Why flexibility makes sense
Drivers have asked for this for years. FMCSA's own notice says that in 2010 listening sessions, many drivers wanted to "sleep when they get tired" or wait out traffic. The notice also cites research suggesting split sleep can be restorative and that the body clock affects fatigue more than splitting sleep does (FR 2026-20524).
That matches what drivers already know. A rigid 7-hour block that starts at noon because the receiver unloaded you late isn't better sleep than two shorter blocks at night. A rule that forces bad sleep in the name of safety isn't doing its job.
Where the design worries us
Fatigue is not a side issue. FMCSA's notice says it may be involved in over 30 percent of fatal truck crashes (FR 2026-20524). NSF cites an AAA Foundation estimate of 6,400 U.S. deaths a year from drowsy driving overall (NSF). So the study has to get the answer right.
Two details in the notice give us pause.
Who gets in. Carriers can't take part if they have any FMCSA enforcement action in the past three years, a driver out-of-service rate above the national average, or a high or moderate risk designation (FR 2026-20524). Those are reasonable safety screens for an exemption. But they also mean the study measures the split on some of the best-run operations in the country.
How they get in. FMCSA plans to use volunteers, and says that approach "is expected to attract drivers who are likely to use the exemption" (FR 2026-20524). That helps collect enough data. It also tilts the sample toward drivers who already like split sleep and can make it work.
If a 5/5 split proves safe for those drivers, that's useful. It won't prove it's safe for a new driver on a tight dispatch, or for an owner-operator chasing a reload with nobody planning his rest.
What FMCSA should change
- Report results by time of day. If the body clock matters more than the split, as FMCSA's own notice suggests, then a 5-hour block at 2 a.m. and a 5-hour block at 2 p.m. aren't the same thing. The results should show that.
- Report by carrier size and include owner-operators. FMCSA says the sample will reflect the mix of carrier sizes. Publish the breakdown so readers can check.
- Publish the data, not just a conclusion. Reaction-time scores, sleep totals and safety-critical events by split type should be public when the study ends.
- Don't write a rule off a best-case sample. If the pilot works, the next step should be a wider test before a permanent change.
Have your say
Comments go to docket FMCSA-2026-2080 at regulations.gov until Dec. 7. FMCSA asks commenters to give a reason for each suggestion. A few specific sentences from a driver who has actually run splits at 3 a.m. are worth more than a form letter.
And this week especially, if your eyes are closing and the lane markers are drifting, park it. No pilot program changes that.
The points
- 1Current rules allow a sleeper split from 7/3 up to 8/2. The pilot would let about 256 drivers go as low as a 5-hour main sleeper period for 16 weeks.
- 2FMCSA says fatigue may be involved in over 30% of fatal truck crashes. The National Sleep Foundation cites an estimated 6,400 U.S. deaths a year from drowsy driving.
- 3The study uses volunteers, and only carriers with clean safety records can take part. FMCSA says that's expected to draw drivers likely to use the exemption.
- 4Our position: run the pilot, but report results by time of day and carrier size, and include owner-operators. Comments are due Dec. 7 in docket FMCSA-2026-2080.
Why it matters
This pilot could shape the next sleeper-berth rule. Drivers who have run 7/3 splits know where it works and where it doesn't, and FMCSA is asking for that input until Dec. 7.
What we read
Fed. Register 2026-20524, Oct. 7: federalregister.gov | Fed. Register 2026-20476, Oct. 6: federalregister.gov | National Sleep Foundation