Nasstrac, the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council, has joined in the legal efforts to challenge a lawsuit regarding reduced daily driving hours for truckers, reports the Journal of Commerce.

The organization is intervening in a court appeal, brought by consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen and other groups, to reduce driving time for truck drivers to 10 hours a day. Public Citizen is challenging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration because the agency did not cut driving time in its new rules.

Nasstrac argues that reducing driver hours wouldn't combat fatigue and that truck accident fatalities have dropped since the 11-hour limit was initiated in 2004.

The group joins the American Trucking Associations, which also filed an appeal. ATA is challenging the 34-hour "restart" rule that could keep some drivers off-duty longer between workweeks. While ATA wants to revise the 34-hour restart, Public Citizen wants to kill it entirely. The U.S. Court of Appeals has consolidated ATA's appeal with the Public Citizen lawsuit.

The FMCSA's rule goes into effect July 2013.