According to the Institute for Traffic Safety Management & Research, between 2020 and 2024, New York State saw over 1000 accident fatalities annually, and around one hundred per year involved large commercial vehicles. Up to 90 percent of truck crashes involving death or personal injury involved multiple vehicles, a known factor for serious injuries and fatalities.
After a serious commercial vehicle accident, large trucking companies have vast legal resources at their disposal–even if the driver, manufacturer, or company was at fault, they are well equipped to battle in court, often leaving victims without sufficient compensation to cover serious injuries.
One of the most important pieces of data that attorneys, investigators, insurance companies, and courts rely on in these cases is black box data.
I’ll tell you more below about why this data is essential to any injury case involving a truck accident, and how a New York truck accident attorney at Buttafuoco & Associates may be able to help.
What Is a Black Box on a Truck?
The majority of large trucks on New York roadways feature electronic devices known as “black boxes” that record key information about the vehicle’s operation while in motion. Black boxes for semi trucks and 18-wheelers record data continuously, and when a sudden movement such as a crash happens, it triggers the device to record and save data before and after the incident.
The data a black box can record may include:
- Speed of travel
- Acceleration
- Deceleration
- Brake use
- Steering patterns
- Engine performance
- Turn signal uses
- Headlight and taillight usage
- Brake usage
- Seatbelt usage
- Hours of service/driving time
Because collisions are often caused by multiple factors, working with an expert who can properly interpret black box data is important to getting to the bottom of what happened. A New York truck accident lawyer at Buttafuoco & Associates can work with investigators, experts, and other parties as needed to determine who was at fault. If you are unsure whether you have a case, we offer free consultations at 1-800-NOW-HURT.
What Can Black Box Data Prove After a Truck Accident?
Collisions are often caused by a chain of complex occurrences, and black box data can make it significantly easier for investigators and attorneys to understand what happened and properly determine fault. Black box data can help uncover unsafe driving behaviors, driver fatigue, violations of federal and other safety rules, and any mechanical issues that could have led to the collision.
Whether a driver was negligent due to fatigue or reckless or distracted driving, the truck’s brakes or other systems did not work effectively, or something else, black box data will point to the variety of factors that resulted in the collision.
Because black box data paints a clear and objective picture of what the driver and the vehicle were doing at the time of the crash, it can be used to support or refute witness accounts, or in cases where the accident’s cause is not readily clear, find it. It is also essential to successful insurance cases.
In non-serious accidents in the no-fault State of New York, the victim’s Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance policy will be used to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and other injury-related expenses up to $50,000. If you meet the serious injury threshold in New York, described here, and the driver or other party was at fault, you can file a lawsuit for any additional accident-related expenses.
How Long Does a Truck Store Black Box Data?
One thing to keep in mind about truck injury cases is that trucks store black box data for only a brief window of time, often 30 days or less, unless an attorney intervenes and preserves the data. If you wait too long to file a claim, you may lose evidence that is critical to your claim.
When you work with Buttafuoco & Associates, we act quickly by notifying the trucking company that the data must be preserved, thus legally requiring them to keep the data intact. Sometimes companies are uncooperative, in which case we can set up a court order to ensure that the evidence is preserved.
Once we receive the black box data, we will compare and combine these findings with information from police reports, witness statements, dashcam footage, photographs, and other documentation. This will allow us to determine who is at fault, whether that be the driver, the company, the manufacturer, or another party, and build a strong case.
In the case of insurance companies, we can use black box data to fight for your rights if they insist the accident did not cause your injuries or if your own or the trucking company’s insurer tries to lowball you and not pay what you deserve. While the hope is that negotiations will be successful, if this is not the case, we will push for your case to go to court.
Get in Touch for a Free Consultation
If you were injured in an accident with a commercial vehicle and your injuries are serious, your insurance company is not fairly compensating you, or you simply want peace of mind that you have utilized every option toward a positive outcome, get in touch with a truck accident attorney serving New York at Buttafuoco & Associates.
Consultations are free and we can help you understand your rights and navigate the steps to take.
Call us today at 1-800-NOW-HURT.