William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Mar 27, 2012 4:27PM EDT
Shipper association NASSTRAC joined the legal battle over truck driver hours-of-service rules, challenging a lawsuit seeking shorter daily hours for truckers.
The group intervened in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington by consumer advocate Public Citizen, which wants the daily driving limit reduced to 10 hours.
NASSTRAC says that wouldn’t reduce driver fatigue and that truck accident fatalities have declined since the current 11-hour limit was introduced in 2004.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington consolidated the Public Citizen lawsuit and a challenge to the rule the American Trucking Association filed in February.
NASSTRAC supports ATA’s challenge to revisions to the 34-hour restart provision that would keep some drivers off-duty longer between work weeks.
Public Citizen wants the court to kill, not revise, the restart provision. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule takes effect in July 2013.
Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wbcassidy_joc
