Texas is home to more annual truck accidents than any other state. If you’re ever involved in one in the Lone Star State, hire a truck accident lawyer as soon as possible to investigate it and uncover key evidence.
One of the first things an attorney will usually do while working on a case like this is secure a truck’s black box data. This box typically contains important information, helping to paint a clearer picture of what happened during a crash and determine who ultimately caused it.
Learn how it can make or break your trucking accident case.
What Is a Black Box?
The black box in a truck is an electronic device responsible for recording almost everything related to its operation and occupants. Also sometimes called an event data recorder or an EDR, it is in charge of monitoring:
- How fast a driver accelerates
- How often a driver uses their brakes and how hard they apply them
- When and how a driver turns their steering wheel
- Whether or not a driver wears a seatbelt
- How much oil a truck has and where the tire pressure for each of its tires stands
Since they contain so much information, these boxes are hugely helpful to truck accident lawyers working on cases. Attorneys use them to look for signs that truckers may have broken local traffic laws and/or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations or committed driver fatigue and hours-of-service violations during crashes. They also use them to prove negligence in truck accident liability.
How Can You Access Data on a Black Box?
If a truck hits you, causing serious injuries and/or property damage, you should consider filing a claim against the driver responsible for your accident. But first, you should seek to access the data on its black box.
Unfortunately, attempting to access it on your own will present challenges. A trucker and their trucking company might not willingly turn it over, no matter how nicely you ask.
This is another area in which a truck accident lawyer will step in and help. They will take the appropriate legal action to force a trucker and their trucking company to give you this data.
Additionally, an attorney will consult with a professional who can perform the necessary accident reconstruction analysis. This professional has the training to analyze data and translate it.
Will Black Box Data Help or Hurt Your Case?
While tracking down black box data in the aftermath of a truck crash in Texas is essential, you shouldn’t assume it will help your personal injury case in all instances. When effective, it could pin blame for your crash on a trucker by suggesting that they were speeding, driving recklessly, or operating a poorly maintained vehicle at the time of your accident.
At the same time, it could hurt your case if it doesn’t show that a trucker was doing anything wrong in the moments leading up to your crash. It might also hurt your case if it highlights how a trucking company has worked hard to keep a vehicle well maintained.
Attorneys will still seek access to it when offering legal representation for truck accident victims. However, it could do more harm than good in some scenarios.
Rely on a Truck Accident Lawyer From Our Law Firm To Handle Your Case
You will not have long to access a black box’s data. The box might store it for only 30 days before overwriting it.
Don’t hesitate to call a truck accident lawyer from McLaurin Law, PLLC, immediately after a crash. We will begin building a compelling case on your behalf right away.
Call us at (713) 364-1895 to schedule a consultation.
