Many people do not know about the event data recorder technology installed within their standard motor vehicles. Otherwise known as black box data, this was originally used on aircraft to help investigators figure out what potentially went wrong in a plane crash. Now, ever since the mid-1990s, investigators, law enforcement, and insurance companies have found it equally useful for determining car crashes. With all that being said, please continue reading to learn how to take advantage of black box data and how an experienced Tampa car accident lawyer at Merricks Law Group, P.A. can help you retrieve it before it is too late.
Why should I use black box data in my car accident claim?
Black box data may record a lot of relevant information surrounding your car accident event itself; such as your acceleration and deceleration speed, your brake application, your seatbelt usage, and your steering angles, along with the time of airbag deployment and the sheer magnitude of impact your vehicle experienced. With this captured data, your arguments in your car accident claim proceedings may improve in the following ways:
- You may establish that you were driving safely in the moments leading up to your collision.
- You may establish that you were attempting to avoid your collision with another vehicle safely.
- You may establish that the impact of your collision correlates with the severity of your claimed injuries.
- You may fill in the gaps in your story about how the car accident event went down, especially if an involved party has since, sadly, passed away.
How long will this black box data be preserved for?
If you want to use black box data in your upcoming car accident claim, you must retrieve it as soon as possible. This is because your event data recorder may not store this information for long after your accident event. Generally speaking, some models may only save recordings for approximately 30 days before erasing and collecting new data.
This is not to mention that it may take you a while to extract this data in the first place. That is, you may need a professional to use a special data retrieval toolkit and then analyze the complex data. Or, if you need this data from the defendant’s vehicle, you may have to formally petition the court to order them to preserve and submit it. All of this may take close to a month for you to execute.
Importantly, though, you must not solely depend on this black box data to prove your case. This is because some models may only save recordings for approximately 20 seconds before a collision event. Plus, this device only operates when your vehicle turns on; so it may not have data on a collision where your vehicle was parked.
To conclude, if you require additional consulting, look no further than a skilled Tampa auto accident lawyer from Merricks Law Group, P.A. Schedule your initial consultation with us today.
