Even though most professional truckdrivers receive considerable training, truck accidents happen at an almost alarming rate in the U.S. In fact, according to statistics from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, police responded to 499,000 accidents involving trucks in 2018 alone.
Because of the sheer size of semitrucks, about 21% of truck accidents cause injury to someone. To boost your chances of receiving financial compensation for your injuries, you may want to get your hands on the truck’s black box.
An important record
Like commercial airliners, many trucks have event data recorders. Known as black boxes, these data recorders document important information about the truck. Accessing a truck’s black box, may shed light on the following:
- The truck’s speed at the time of the accident
- The driver’s use of the truck’s brakes or accelerator
- The driver’s use of the truck’s seat belts
- The truck’s tire pressure and brake condition
- The truck’s maintenance schedule
- The truck’s accident history
A history of communication
Many black boxes also maintain a communication log. Consequently, if you obtain the black box, you may be able to read through the messages the driver sent to the trucking company or others before, during and after the accident. These communications may cover rest breaks, maintenance, medical concerns and other relevant accident-associated details.
Unfortunately, the communication and truck-related information contained in a black box may be erasable or overwritable. Therefore, you may need to act quickly to prevent the driver or the trucking company from destroying the potentially important evidence inside the black box.