How many hours a day should I drive on a cross-country move?
There's no official limit for private drivers. For scale, federal rules let a professional truck driver drive at most 11 hours after 10 hours off, with a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving. They're trained, and you're in an unfamiliar truck. Plan well under that.
Sleep matters more than miles. CDC says adults need at least 7 hours, so don't start a driving day after loading the truck late into the night.
Stop when you notice the signs: yawning or blinking a lot, not remembering the last few miles, missing your exit, drifting out of your lane, or hitting a rumble strip. Pull over and rest, or switch drivers.
Avoid alcohol and any medicine that makes you drowsy. Check the labels. NHTSA counted 684 deaths in drowsy-driving crashes in 2021.
Source: FMCSA, Summary of Hours of Service Regulations; CDC, Drowsy Driving: Asleep at the Wheel; NHTSA, Drowsy Driving · Checked October 2026