At the end of the Trump Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration published a notice proposing a pilot program to evaluate two additional options for splitting sleeper berth periods – a 6/4 split and a 5/5 split.  As of September 2020, drivers are now able to use an 8/2 or 7/3 split in their sleeper berth periods to achieve their 10 hours off duty.

Under the proposal, participating drivers would have the option to split their 10 hours of sleeper berth time into two periods, provided that the two periods provide a combined rest amount of at least 10 hours in length.  When operating under the pilot program exemption, drivers would be expected to split their sleeper berth time into two periods such that neither period is less than four hours in length; however, drivers would be free to choose whether or not to operate under the exemption based on their schedule.  Carriers and drivers desiring to participate would apply to FMCSA for acceptance in the proposed pilot program.  But with the change in administrations the proposed pilot program never made it into the Federal Register.  President Biden has issued an Executive Order freezing any regulatory proposals from the Trump Administration until they can be reviewed in accordance with new policies.  Thus, it is unknown whether the FMCSA will go forward with the sleeper berth pilot program.