# 150 Air-Mile Radius Map: Short-Haul Exemption Rules > The short-haul exemption covers drivers within 150 air miles (172.6 road miles) who are back in 14 hours. See the rules and draw your radius on a free map. Canonical: https://gpsleaders.com/blog/150-air-mile-radius Last updated: 2026-11-10 Fleet Tracking ## 150 Air-Mile Radius Map: Short-Haul Exemption Rules The short-haul exemption covers drivers within 150 air miles (172.6 road miles) who are back in 14 hours. See the rules and draw your radius on a free map. By [Nick Muratore](https://gpsleaders.com/about) GPS Veteran & CEO, GPS Leaders·3 min read 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](https://gpsleaders.com/tools/radius-map). 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](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/01/2020-11469/hours-of-service-of-drivers), 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](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/395.1) 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](https://gpsleaders.com/blog/what-does-dvir-stand-for). Our free [driver daily log](https://gpsleaders.com/tools/forms/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](https://gpsleaders.com/fleet-tracking) 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](https://gpsleaders.com/tools/radius-map): enter your yard and use 172.6 miles. Fleet Tracking ### Run your fleet on real numbers Live location, driver behavior, idle time, and maintenance in one place — built for small business owners, not enterprise telematics teams. [See fleet tracking](https://gpsleaders.com/fleet-tracking) [Request a quote](https://gpsleaders.com/request-a-quote?from=blog-post) [](https://gpsleaders.com/fleet-tracking) The tracker for this #### Fleet Tracking — OBD2 Plug-In 1-Minute DIY Install $69$149+ $15.98/mo service, billed separately Qty [See the page →](https://gpsleaders.com/fleet-tracking) Most orders ship same day · US only · 3-year warranty Opt in #### Nick's notes, by email. One email when there's something worth knowing: a recovery that worked, a rule that changed, a number that surprised us. No drip campaigns. ![Nick Muratore](https://gpsleaders.com/team/nick-muratore-160.webp) [Nick Muratore](https://gpsleaders.com/about) GPS Veteran & CEO, GPS Leaders Nick Muratore is the founder and CEO of GPS Leaders, a vehicle intelligence company he established in 2015 and continues to lead from California. Over a 32-year career he has evaluated more than 120 GPS hardware and software products, developing the comparative expertise that underpins the company's approach: recommending systems on evidence of field performance rather than specification. Under his direction GPS Leaders serves vehicle finance, dealership, rental, fleet and equipment operators nationwide, on a model built around transparent pricing, no annual fees, and owner-level accountability. 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