150 Air-Mile Radius Map: Short-Haul Exemption Rules

The short-haul exemption lets drivers who stay close to home skip the logbook. The whole thing hinges on one number: 150 air miles from where the driver reports to work.

Here is what that means, how to see it on a map, and what you still have to keep on file.

What is an air mile?

An air mile is a nautical mile: 6,076 feet, or about 1.15 regular miles. The rule measures in a straight line, not by road.

So a 150 air-mile radius is 172.6 statute miles. The regulation states that figure itself.

See your 150 air-mile radius on a map

1. Open our free radius map tool .
2. Enter your yard or terminal address: wherever drivers report to work.
3. Type 172.6 as the radius in miles, and draw.

Anything inside the circle is within 150 air miles. You can name the circle, add a second one for another yard, and share the map with your dispatcher. The "Is this address inside the circle?" check tells you whether a given job site qualifies.

The short-haul exemption rules (CDL drivers)

Under 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1), a driver doesn't need a record of duty status (paper log or ELD) if:

• They stay within a 150 air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location.
• They return to that location and are released from work within 14 consecutive hours.
• They get at least 10 hours off duty between shifts (8 hours for passenger-carrying drivers).
• The company keeps time records for 6 months: when the driver came on duty, total hours each day, when they were released, and total time for the past 7 days for new or occasional drivers.

Non-CDL drivers

Drivers of property-carrying vehicles that don't need a CDL have their own version, in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(2). They stay within the same 150 air-mile radius and return to the work location each day, and they may not drive:

• after the 14th hour on duty on 5 days of any 7, or
• after the 16th hour on duty on 2 days of any 7.

The same 6-month time records apply.

100 air miles or 150?

The limit used to be 100 air miles and a 12-hour day. FMCSA raised it to 150 air miles and 14 hours in its 2020 hours-of-service rule , which is why older guides and maps still say 100.

Rules can change and your operation may have its own requirements, so check 49 CFR 395.1 and your compliance advisor. This post is not legal advice.

What you still have to keep

The exemption drops the logbook, not the paperwork. You still need the time records above, and drivers still do their inspections and DVIRs . Our free driver daily log covers the time side on paper.

Where GPS tracking helps

The hard part is proving it. If a driver goes past 150 air miles, or isn't back within 14 hours, that day needs a log.

A GPS tracker records every trip, the start and stop times, and how far from the yard each truck went. Set the 172.6-mile circle as a geofence and you get an alert the moment a truck leaves it, while there is still time to start a log.

Questions

How far is 150 air miles in regular miles?

172.6 statute miles, in a straight line from the work reporting location.

Is the radius measured by road?

No, it's straight-line distance. A route can be well over 172.6 road miles and still stay inside the radius.

Do short-haul drivers need an ELD?

Not on days they meet the exemption. On a day they don't (too far, or over 14 hours), they need a record of duty status for that day.

Where can I draw a 150 air-mile radius?

On our free radius map : enter your yard and use 172.6 miles.