Radius Map Tool

A free tool for measuring distance on a map.

Trucking and logistics

Draw a 150 air-mile radius

Map the FMCSA short-haul radius around a terminal, yard, or work reporting location. The circle is drawn in nautical miles, the unit the regulation uses.

Try a 150 nautical mile radius

Choose a place to begin.

Or paste coordinates, e.g. 51.5074, -0.1278

Search: © OpenStreetMap
1 circle
Label, style, rings & coordinates

Distances in this circle’s unit. Each ring becomes its own circle.

Diameter—
Area—
Circumference—
Center—

Approximate distances on a spherical Earth. Straight-line distance, not driving routes. Polar regions are clipped by the map projection.

Click an empty part of the map to add a circle. Drag a center or edge to adjust it, or use the radius and center coordinate fields.

Export your radius map

Download every circle. Boundaries approximate a spherical circle with 360 segments.

Share your radius map

This link is a snapshot. Anyone with it can see your circles and labels. Later changes require a new link.

Reset this map?

This clears the saved draft for this page. You can undo the reset while this page stays open.

Towns and cities inside the circle

Scroll here to list the places inside the selected circle.

Lists places with at least 15,000 residents from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), measured to each place’s reference point. Population figures come from various census years and boundary definitions, so treat them as indicative. Districts are parts of a larger city that are listed separately.

The 150 air-mile radius in hours-of-service rules

U.S. hours-of-service rules for commercial drivers include a short-haul exception. In 2020, FMCSA extended it from 100 to 150 air miles and lengthened the maximum duty period from 12 to 14 hours. A driver who qualifies can keep simple time records rather than record-of-duty-status logs, which also removes the need for an electronic logging device for those days.

The regulation measures the radius in air miles, defined in 49 CFR 395.2 as nautical miles of 6,076 feet. Drawing a 150 statute mile circle understates the area by about 22 miles in every direction. This page opens the map in nautical miles so the circle matches the rule.

How to check your 150 air-mile radius

  1. Search your normal work reporting location (terminal, yard, or depot) or enter its coordinates.
  2. Keep the radius at 150 nautical miles.
  3. Add circles for other terminals to see where their areas overlap, and label each one.
  4. Scroll to Towns and cities inside the circle for a list of destinations within the radius, or export KML to load into fleet or GIS software.

Other rules that use a 150 air-mile radius

  • Agricultural commodities. 49 CFR 395.1(k) exempts certain agricultural transport within 150 air miles of the source during planting and harvest seasons set by each state.
  • Non-CDL short haul. Drivers of vehicles that do not require a commercial driver’s license have a separate short-haul provision in 395.1(e)(2) that also uses a 150 air-mile radius, with different duty-day limits.

Regulations change and include details this summary leaves out. This map is a planning aid, not legal or compliance advice; check the current text of 49 CFR Part 395 and FMCSA guidance.

A 150 nautical mile radius in numbers

Radius172.6 miles · 277.8 km · 911,417 feet
Diameter345.2 miles · 555.6 km
Circumference1,084 miles · 1,745 km
Area93,594 sq mi · 242,407 km²
Area in land units59,900,128 acres · 24,240,722 hectares

Area and circumference are calculated on a spherical Earth, so very large circles are slightly smaller than πr² suggests.

How long does it take to cross a 150 nautical mile radius?

These times cover the straight-line distance from the center to the edge at a steady speed. Real routes are longer: road networks usually add 20 to 40 percent to the straight-line distance, more where rivers, hills, or coastlines force detours.

Way of travelCenter to edgeWith a 30% detour
Walking (3 mph / 5 km/h)2.4 days3.1 days
Cycling (12 mph / 19 km/h)14 h 23 min18 h 42 min
Driving on city streets (25 mph / 40 km/h)6 h 54 min8 h 59 min
Driving on highways (60 mph / 97 km/h)2 h 53 min3 h 44 min

What a 150 nautical mile radius covers in major cities

Places with at least 15,000 residents inside a 150 nautical mile circle drawn from each city’s central reference point, using GeoNames data. Counts include city districts listed separately.

CenterPlaces insideLargest places inside
DallasDowntown Dallas106Fort Worth (31 mi), Arlington (18 mi), Plano (18 mi)
Chicagothe Loop301Indianapolis (165 mi), Milwaukee (81 mi), Madison (122 mi)
AtlantaFive Points121Huntsville (142 mi), Columbus (96 mi), Birmingham (140 mi)
Los AngelesLos Angeles City Hall288Tijuana (129 mi), San Diego (111 mi), Long Beach (20 mi)
Denverthe Colorado State Capitol43Colorado Springs (63 mi), Aurora (8.2 mi), Fort Collins (59 mi)
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia City Hall616New York City (81 mi), Brooklyn (80 mi), Queens (86 mi)

Related maps: 100 mile radius · find cities within a radius · how to draw a radius

Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

What is an air mile?

FMCSA rules define an air mile as a nautical mile: 6,076 feet or 1,852 meters. That is about 15 percent longer than a statute mile, so 150 air miles is about 172.6 statute miles (277.8 km).

What is the 150 air-mile short-haul exception?

Under 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1), drivers who stay within a 150 air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location, return there within 14 consecutive hours, and meet the other conditions can use time records instead of logs or electronic logging devices. The radius was raised from 100 to 150 air miles in 2020.

Is a point inside the circle within the short-haul exception?

The circle shows straight-line distance only. Whether a trip qualifies also depends on the 14-hour return, off-duty requirements, driving-time limits, and record keeping. Check the current regulation or ask FMCSA or a compliance professional.

Can I use statute miles instead?

Yes. The unit menu converts the same circle into miles, kilometers, meters, or feet, but the regulation is stated in air miles, so keep the unit at nautical miles for compliance checks.