diff --git a/src/devx/molecule/start_docker.py b/src/devx/molecule/start_docker.py
index 2ceb1e9..9913177 100644
--- a/src/devx/molecule/start_docker.py
+++ b/src/devx/molecule/start_docker.py
@@ -223,6 +223,16 @@ def start_docker_daemon(timeout: int = DEFAULT_TIMEOUT) -> bool:
 
     click.echo(_("Host Docker not available, starting local dockerd..."))
 
+    # Kill any existing dockerd that's using the default data root on the
+    # CI container's overlay (38G, often 100% full). The new dockerd will
+    # use /dev/shm/docker (16G tmpfs) which has plenty of space.
+    subprocess.run(  # nosec B603 B607
+        ["pkill", "-f", "dockerd"],
+        capture_output=True,
+        check=False,
+    )
+    time.sleep(2)
+
     # Reset DOCKER_HOST to host socket for local dockerd
     os.environ["DOCKER_HOST"] = f"unix://{DOCKER_SOCK}"
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_start_docker.py b/tests/unit/test_start_docker.py
index 35a7eb2..72be872 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_start_docker.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_start_docker.py
@@ -146,8 +146,12 @@ class TestStartDockerDaemon:
         with (
             patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.glob.glob", return_value=[]),
             patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.os.path.exists", return_value=False),
+            patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.subprocess.run"),
+            patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.subprocess.Popen"),
+            patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile"),
+            patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.time.sleep"),
         ):
-            # Host ready but low space, no rootless sockets, falls back to host
+            # Host ready but low space, no rootless sockets, starts local dockerd
             assert start_docker_daemon(timeout=5) is True
 
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker._diagnose_socket")
@@ -202,12 +206,14 @@ class TestStartDockerDaemon:
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.os.path.exists", return_value=False)
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.is_docker_ready", return_value=False)
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.time.sleep")
+    @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.subprocess.run")
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.subprocess.Popen")
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile")
     def test_starts_local_daemon(
         self,
         mock_ntf: MagicMock,
         mock_popen: MagicMock,
+        mock_run: MagicMock,
         mock_sleep: MagicMock,
         mock_ready: MagicMock,
         mock_exists: MagicMock,
@@ -232,12 +238,14 @@ class TestStartDockerDaemon:
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.os.path.exists", return_value=False)
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.is_docker_ready", return_value=False)
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.time.sleep")
+    @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.subprocess.run")
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.subprocess.Popen")
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile")
     def test_fails_after_timeout(
         self,
         mock_ntf: MagicMock,
         mock_popen: MagicMock,
+        mock_run: MagicMock,
         mock_sleep: MagicMock,
         mock_ready: MagicMock,
         mock_exists: MagicMock,
@@ -249,7 +257,7 @@ class TestStartDockerDaemon:
         with patch("builtins.open", mock_open(read_data="dockerd error log")):
             assert start_docker_daemon(timeout=3) is False
         mock_popen.assert_called_once()
-        assert mock_sleep.call_count == 3
+        assert mock_sleep.call_count == 4  # 1 pkill + 3 timeout
 
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.glob.glob", return_value=[])
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker._diagnose_socket")
@@ -257,12 +265,14 @@ class TestStartDockerDaemon:
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.os.path.exists", return_value=False)
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.is_docker_ready", return_value=False)
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.time.sleep")
+    @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.subprocess.run")
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.subprocess.Popen")
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile")
     def test_fails_log_read_error(
         self,
         mock_ntf: MagicMock,
         mock_popen: MagicMock,
+        mock_run: MagicMock,
         mock_sleep: MagicMock,
         mock_ready: MagicMock,
         mock_exists: MagicMock,
@@ -281,12 +291,14 @@ class TestStartDockerDaemon:
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.os.path.exists", return_value=False)
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.is_docker_ready")
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.time.sleep")
+    @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.subprocess.run")
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.subprocess.Popen")
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker.tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile")
     def test_local_daemon_ready_on_first_check(
         self,
         mock_ntf: MagicMock,
         mock_popen: MagicMock,
+        mock_run: MagicMock,
         mock_sleep: MagicMock,
         mock_ready: MagicMock,
         mock_exists: MagicMock,
@@ -299,7 +311,7 @@ class TestStartDockerDaemon:
         mock_ready.side_effect = [False, False, True]
         assert start_docker_daemon(timeout=5) is True
         assert mock_popen.call_count == 1
-        assert mock_sleep.call_count == 1
+        assert mock_sleep.call_count == 2  # 1 pkill + 1 timeout
 
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker._diagnose_socket")
     @patch("devx.molecule.start_docker._get_docker_free_bytes", return_value=100 * 1024**3)