Flexible Sleeper Pilot Program coming in 2016

The current rule is that drivers who use the sleeper berth must take at least 8 consecutive hours in the berth and two separate consecutive hours either in or out of the berth. This is a very firm rule with no flexibility, therefore the American Trucking Association and other industry groups are asking the FMCSA to consider altering said rule. The FMCSA has been working on this pilot program for a year now but finally looks to be coming along. The FMCSA is testing the hypothesis that “greater flexibility will reduce driver fatigue.” How will the Sleeper Pilot Program work?

Sleeper Pilot Program

•  Goals to collect data from 200 drivers
  • 50 small carriers w 50 trucks
  • 50 medium carriers w up to 500 trucks
  • 50 large carriers
  • 25 owner operated
  • 25 team drivers

These drivers will be trained at the North American Fatigue Management Program and will be tracked with onboard monitoring systems and their sleep patterns will be tracked with actigraph watches. More data on safe driving will also be collected.

For more information go to Trucking Info>>