Non-CDL short-haul exception checker.

What 395.1(e)(2) says

Section 395.1(e) has two short-haul provisions. Paragraph (e)(1) is for CDL drivers. Paragraph (e)(2) is titled "Operators of property-carrying commercial motor vehicles not requiring a commercial driver's license." It says: "Except as provided in this paragraph, a driver is exempt from the requirements of §§ 395.3(a)(2), 395.8, and 395.11 and ineligible to use the provisions of § 395.1(e)(1), (g), and (o) if:" and then lists the conditions. The three sections named are the 14-hour rule, the record of duty status and the ELD requirement, in that order.

The conditions, quoted from the current text, are: (i) "The driver operates a property-carrying commercial motor vehicle for which a commercial driver's license is not required under part 383 of this subchapter"; (ii) "The driver operates within a 150 air-mile radius of the location where the driver reports to and is released from work, i.e., the normal work reporting location"; (iii) "The driver returns to the normal work reporting location at the end of each duty tour"; (iv) "The driver does not drive: (A) After the 14th hour after coming on duty on 5 days of any period of 7 consecutive days; and (B) After the 16th hour after coming on duty on 2 days of any period of 7 consecutive days"; and (v) the employing motor carrier "maintains and retains for a period of 6 months accurate and true time records."

How this checker reads the 14th and 16th hour limits

Items (iv)(A) and (iv)(B) together cover a 7-day window. Five of the seven days must have no driving after the 14th hour, and the remaining two days may run longer, but not past the 16th hour. The checker therefore treats the driver as inside the limits when no more than 2 of the last 7 days include driving after the 14th hour and none include driving after the 16th hour. That is our reading of the quoted words, not FMCSA guidance, and the page is marked for review for that reason. The 7-day count is a rolling window ("any period of 7 consecutive days"), so run it for each day you care about, not once a week.

Why the choice matters: what this driver gives up

The same sentence that grants the exemption also makes the driver "ineligible to use the provisions of § 395.1(e)(1), (g), and (o)." Paragraph (e)(1) is the CDL short-haul exemption, paragraph (g) is the sleeper berth provisions and paragraph (o) is the 16-hour exemption for drivers who return to the reporting location. A non-CDL driver using (e)(2) cannot also lean on those. The exemption removes the log and the 14-hour rule. The exemption names 395.3(a)(2), 395.8 and 395.11. It does not name the other paragraphs of 395.3, such as the 11-hour driving limit in 395.3(a)(3)(i) or the 60 and 70 hour limits in 395.3(b), so read the list as exactly what it names. Separately, 395.3(a)(3)(ii) says the 30-minute driving interruption does not apply to drivers who qualify for either short-haul exception in 395.1(e)(1) or (2).

Time records the carrier keeps

Under 395.1(e)(2)(v) the employing carrier keeps records for 6 months showing "(A) The time the driver reports for duty each day; (B) The total number of hours the driver is on duty each day; (C) The time the driver is released from duty each day; (D) The total time for the preceding 7 days in accordance with § 395.8(j)(2) for drivers used for the first time or intermittently."

Worked example

A driver of a 16,000-pound box truck, which needs no CDL, reports to a yard in Dallas each morning and returns there each evening. Over the last 7 days the driver drove past the 14th hour on 1 day and never past the 16th. Entered into the checker with a 150 air-mile radius, a return every tour and time records on file: every condition is met. If the same driver had driven past the 14th hour on 3 days, the 14th-hour line fails and the driver would need a record of duty status for the days in question. If the driver drove past the 16th hour even once, the 16th-hour line fails.

Limits of this page

It takes your answers on trust. It does not measure the 150 air-mile radius, does not check whether the vehicle actually requires a CDL (that depends on the gross vehicle weight rating and the other part 383 tests), and does not consider state rules, other FMCSA rules or hazardous materials. Whether a vehicle is a "commercial motor vehicle" under part 390 is a separate question. This is the rule as written on the date read; confirm against the live eCFR before relying on it.

Sources

• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.1, scope of rules, paragraph (e)(2) (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.2, definitions (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.3, maximum driving time for property-carrying vehicles (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.8, driver's record of duty status (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 49 CFR 395.11, electronic logging device requirement (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)