If you are hauling raw vegetables out of the field and you are working for somebody do you have to run a log book? I only ask this question because a friend of mine did this for a summer and he never had to run a log book.

It depends. Was he hauling only on private property? If he was then I'd say "probably" not. Was he hauling locally less than 100 air miles to destination? If so, then he would have had to run an exemption log book stating his start and end times, or a record of on duty time kept at his employers domicile. Did he work more that 12 hours per day while on public roadways? Then the answer is yes. There are many variables when it comes to running a log book or not, but the bottom line is that the hours need to be accounted for somehow. More info is needed though to give you a valid answer.

check this http://tinyurl.com/25trjp

The way I've been told is:If you stay within a 150 mile radius of whatever passes for your "home terminal",no log is required,regardless of cargo...However,you still must adhere to the 14/11 hour HOS rules....

You have been told wrong.

CDL vehicle 100 air mile radius. Some states, like IL do allow 150 miles, but you can not cross state lines. If you do you are limited to the 100 mile federal rule or must use a log book.

Non CDL vehicle 150 air mile radius.

As far as the hours allowed to drive, this again depends on if the vehicle is CDL or non CDL.

Read section E for the complete regs.

I work for SWIFT. I don't know if this is just a company policy or not, but I was told that we still have to log our local runs that are under 100 miles.

Since you do not report back to the same terminal every night (I assume you are an OTR driver) you do not qualify for the short haul exemption for no log book.

Also even if you did nothing but short runs out of your home terminal all day it is often just easier to keep the OTR drivers on a log book instead of temporarily switching them to a time sheet/card.