FMCSA announced it has completed pre-tests for two Hours of Service pilot programs and is preparing a full launch in 2027. The Flexible Sleeper Berth Pilot Program would let participating drivers split their required off-duty time into two periods in any combination, provided the periods total at least 10 hours and one includes at least five consecutive hours in the sleeper berth. The Split Duty Period Pilot Program would let drivers pause their 14-hour driving window for up to three hours a day when they spend qualifying non-driving time at a pickup or delivery, off duty, or in the sleeper berth. Each program is expected to enroll 256 drivers (512 total), who will participate for four months. The pre-tests ran in spring and summer 2026 with nine drivers each; FMCSA says it will monitor for shipper-driven detention and use the findings to refine the programs. Motor carriers should watch for the 2027 rollout, which could reshape driver scheduling and fatigue-management practices.

OSHA cited General Shale Brick Inc., doing business as Watsontown Brick Company, with three willful, four serious, one repeat, and one other-than-serious violation after a February 12, 2026 inspection under the agency's Site-Specific Targeting plan and national emphasis program on respirable crystalline silica. Investigators found workers in Plant 3, where molded brick is made, breathing silica dust above permissible limits while the company knew about the exposure but failed to fix it or require respirators. OSHA also found the employer failed to conduct annual respirator fit tests, establish regulated areas where employees are exposed to silica, check exposure levels for all silica-involved jobs, and provide the medical exams required for workers exposed to silica more than 30 days a year; a prior fit-test violation at the company's Augusta, Georgia site drove the repeat citation. Proposed penalties total $496,528.

FMCSA removed 10 devices from its list of registered electronic logging devices for failing to meet the minimum requirements in 49 CFR Part 395, Appendix A to Subpart B: Ontime Logs iosix, LAST MINUTE ELD, Porter ELD, Zee HOS Compliance, EV ELD IOSIX (f/k/a EVO ELD IOSIX), Light and Travel ELD, PREMIERRIDE LOGS, 2BRO ELD, 305 ELD, and TT ELD 40. Motor carriers using any of them must discontinue use now, revert to paper logs or logging software, and install a compliant registered ELD before September 8, 2026. Carriers still running a revoked device on or after that date violate 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1) — "no record of duty status" — and drivers will be placed out-of-service under CVSA criteria.