Free tool for local drivers
Clock in and out on your phone, watch your 14 hours, track your 60- or 70-hour week and send your company the time records the short-haul rule requires. Free, no sign-up, and your records stay on your phone.
Set this up once. Everything is saved on this phone only.
1Add it to your home screen
The Time Card is made for your phone. On your phone, open vocationaltrucksofamerica.com/timecard and add it to your home screen from there.
2Your details
3Your truck and hours
Does your truck need a CDL to drive?
Weekly limit your company uses
70 / 8 is only for companies that run trucks every day of the week. Ask if you’re not sure.
Do you mostly haul construction materials or equipment to job sites within 75 air miles?
If yes, 24 hours off restarts your week instead of 34.
4Distance check (optional)
Check my distance from the yard
The page checks your straight-line distance while it’s open and keeps only the farthest distance for the day. Your location stays on this phone and is never sent to VTA or your company.
| Date | Reported | Released | Hours on duty | Previous 7 days | Short-haul |
|---|
Printed October 23, 2026 from the VTA 150 Air-Mile Time Card. Records kept by the driver; the motor carrier keeps time records for 6 months (49 CFR 395.1(e)).
Driver signature: ______________________________ Date: ____________
What it checks
A short-haul day under the 150 air-mile rule has to pass four checks: you stay within 150 air miles of the yard, end the day there, are released within 14 hours and had 10 hours off before. The time card checks each one when you clock out, then keeps your weekly hours and log days in view.
See the rule explained with an example dump truck day on the DOT Compliance page.
Records
Under the short-haul exception, the motor carrier keeps a time record for every driver and every day, for 6 months. The time card’s spreadsheet and printout include each of these:
For fleet owners and safety managers
Share this page with your local drivers. Each driver’s spreadsheet has the same columns, so you can combine them into one file for your six-month records. It doesn’t replace your payroll or TMS time clock; use it where drivers have nothing else.
Short link for posters and text messages: vocationaltrucksofamerica.com/timecard
FAQ
Short answers on the short-haul rule and the time card. General information, not legal advice.
It is the short-haul exception in 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1). A CDL driver who stays within 150 air miles of the normal work reporting location, returns there and is released within 14 hours does not need logs or an ELD. The motor carrier keeps a daily time record instead.
An air mile is a nautical mile, so 150 air miles equals 172.6 regular miles. It is measured in a straight line from the yard, not along the road. The time card’s optional location check measures that straight-line distance.
For each day: the time the driver reported for duty, the time the driver was released, and the total hours on duty. For drivers used for the first time or only now and then, it also shows total hours for the previous 7 days. The carrier keeps the records for 6 months.
No. Drivers who qualify for either short-haul exception are exempt from the 30-minute break. On a day that goes outside the rule, the break is required after 8 hours of driving, and the driver keeps a log for that day.
That day does not qualify, so the driver keeps a record of duty status, or log, for it. A driver who needs logs on more than 8 days in any 30-day period must use an ELD. The time card counts those days for you.
Yes. The exception only swaps logs for time records. Drivers still need 10 hours off before driving, may drive no more than 11 hours, and must stay under 60 hours in 7 days or 70 in 8. Taking 34 hours off restarts the week.
Drivers used mainly to haul construction materials or equipment to or from an active job site within 75 air miles of their work reporting location. For them, 24 hours off restarts the 7- or 8-day period instead of 34 (49 CFR 395.1(m)).
Non-CDL short-haul drivers, under 49 CFR 395.1(e)(2), must stay within 150 air miles and return to the work reporting location each day. They may drive until the 14th hour after coming on duty on 5 days, and until the 16th hour on 2 days, in any 7. They also keep time records.
No. There is no account. Your records and location stay on your phone, and nothing is sent to VTA. Send your records to your company and back them up often, because clearing your browser data erases them.
No. It is a free helper that makes the daily time record easy. Your company is responsible for keeping time records, and drivers who need logs must follow the log and ELD rules. Drivers who stay inside one state should also check their state’s rules.
Based on FMCSA rules: 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1), 395.1(e)(2), 395.1(m), 395.2, 395.3 and 395.8.
The DOT rules vocational fleets ask about most, and how to start a career driving work trucks.
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