Imagine this scenario: A commercial 18-wheeler is cruising down I-95 or the Beltway at 55 mph.
The driver notices that traffic up ahead has slowed to a stop. To bring his rig to a complete stop, the driver needs a braking distance equal to the length of two football fields.
Now imagine the driver wasn’t paying attention when the traffic ahead stopped. That is a recipe for disaster if the truck driver loses control of their rig. It can set off a chain reaction of collisions, leaving several drivers with destroyed cars and serious injuries all because the truck driver was distracted.
Getting involved in a collision with a truck is traumatic enough. Learning the driver operated his rig recklessly can stir up anger. That is completely justified.
The best way to find closure and compensation for your losses is to work with an experienced Chillum truck accident lawyer. Your attorney can help preserve the evidence needed to prove the driver was at fault.
That will fortify your claim and help maximize your compensation.
Key Evidence Used to Prove Truck Driver Distraction
A split second of distraction can cause a truck driver to cause a devastating collision.
Proving distraction as the cause of the crash requires a thorough investigation of the moments leading up to it. Fortunately, many sources of evidence can help show what was going on. Consider the following:
Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Records
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets regulations about all aspects of trucking, including Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Records. These record driving time and hours of service and can help establish the truck’s movements and operating status.
However, ELDs do not record cell phone use or driver attention.
Cell Phone Records
Like most drivers, every truck driver has a cell phone. That cell phone can provide call logs, text message timestamps, and mobile data records that can establish whether a truck driver was using a phone immediately before a collision.
Maryland’s hands-free driving law prohibits drivers from writing, sending, or reading text messages while operating a motor vehicle or truck.
Additionally, commercial truck drivers must also comply with federal safety regulations that prohibit texting while driving a covered commercial motor vehicle and using a handheld mobile telephone.
Event Data Recorder (EDR) Information
In addition to ELDs, most commercial trucks have Event Data Recorders (EDR).
These systems capture the truck’s speed, braking activity, throttle position, and other operational data. If these records show the driver failed to brake before striking another vehicle, they may support distracted-driving allegations when considered alongside other evidence.
Dashcam and Surveillance Footage
Many truck companies require drivers to have inward-facing dashcams.
Even though drivers know they’re being monitored, they can still engage in distracted driving. Forward-facing dashcams, traffic cameras, and nearby business surveillance cameras can also capture distracted behavior in the moments leading up to a collision.
Eyewitness Statements
Other motorists, passengers, and pedestrians may have observed a truck driver looking at a phone, eating, or failing to watch the roadway.
Police Accident Reports
The officer who responds to the scene can document driver statements, witness accounts, physical evidence, citations, and suspected contributing factors. This report can become the foundation for your claim.
Accident Reconstruction
An accident reconstruction specialist can analyze skid marks, vehicle damage, impact angles, roadway conditions, and electronic vehicle data to reconstruct the collision.
Their reconstruction can help determine whether a driver was driving distracted.
Why Preserving Evidence Quickly Matters
You control the photos you take on your phone. You can keep or delete them.
Electronic evidence can be lost when surveillance footage is overwritten under routine retention policies. That is why you need to act fast to preserve that evidence. The legal team at GDH understands the importance of acting quickly to preserve evidence, and we can send preservation notices to trucking companies and other relevant parties requiring them to preserve it.
This is particularly important because Maryland follows the contributory negligence doctrine.
If you’re found to be partially to blame for the accident, even slightly, you won’t be able to collect compensation for your losses from the truck driver or trucking company. We’ll work hard to prevent that. The evidence we help collect must show the truck driver was distracted and that the distraction contributed to the collision.
Reach out to our office to schedule a free case review today. You might only know that a truck slammed into your car.
We can help you find out why.
