Many commercial trucking companies are installing dash cameras in their rigs. Such dash cameras may record the road out in front of the truck or be positioned to record the driver themselves. From either angle, these dashcams could capture video and/or audio that proves the driver’s misconduct, which might include:
In any case, dashcam footage can provide crucial evidence in determining liability and getting to the bottom of who is at fault for an accident. But how do you go about procuring such evidence, and who should you trust to effectively use this evidence in your favor? Discuss your options with a Huntsville truck accident attorney right away.
A trucking company is unlikely to offer to hand over dashcam footage if it shows one of its drivers exercising a disregard for safety. They will likely want to keep that footage under wraps for as long as they can to avoid liability.
That’s where the need for an effective Huntsville truck accident attorney comes in. They can issue the right notices to the trucking company to ensure the dashcam footage is preserved and not spoiled. A letter can be sent to the company early in the process to demand the preservation of all evidence potentially pertinent to your truck collision case.
A spoliation letter doesn’t guarantee the accessibility of evidence, nor will it entirely rule out the possibility of the trucking company destroying it. However, this letter will place you in a better position to eventually access that evidence and can lead to penalties for the truck company if they destroy it. It’s a useful tool when it comes to obtaining potential evidence of liability, including dashcam footage.
Even if there were no dash cameras installed on the truck that hit you, there could still be other sources of recordings worth looking into. For instance, much like commercial airline jets, commercial trucks have event data recorders, or “black box” devices, which can monitor:
Even though they don’t capture audio or video, black boxes could still capture negligence by recording that the driver failed to brake for an obstacle or drove well above the legal speed limit. Likewise, some trucks may be outfitted with “speed limiter” technology for safety purposes, though negligent drivers may try to override or bypass this technology.
In any case, whether you’re interested in obtaining the black box, dashcam, or speed limiter recordings, you should work with a reliable truck accident attorney to do so. They can write an effective letter of spoliation to preserve those recordings and effectively represent your truck accident lawsuit claim.
Our experienced legal team at Cloud, Ryan & Rouse, LLC, will fight for you from start to finish. Request a no-cost consultation with one of us today by filling out our online contact form or giving our team a call at 256-289-7287.
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