Electronic Logging Devices: How Beneficial Are They in Truck Accidents?

The purpose of electronic logging devices is to increase safety and enforce transportation businesses’ accountability in cases of truck accidents, and these devices are also an excellent piece of proof for a truck accident claim. There were almost 6,000 large truck collisions in the US in 2021 that resulted in a fatality, which was a 20% increase from the previous year.

In truck accidents where the involved truck had ELDs, an amazing quantity of evidence may be utilized to support a victim’s lawsuit. Reputable truck accident lawyers such as the ones at Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers regularly use ELD data to win cases for their clients and help them receive compensation.

Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers have made the impossible possible. They have secured millions in compensation for their clients. They even secured $2,620,571 for a client where the original offer was $0.

Benefits of Electronic Logging Devices in Truck Accident Lawsuits

Electronic logging devices gather a lot of data, including a vehicle’s mileage, GPS position, engine load, fuel efficiency, warning lights, and risky driving behaviors like forceful braking. These details can be used by a victim’s lawyer to prepare the lawsuit, settle for a large sum with the insurance company, or win the case in court.

ELDs are Beneficial to Establish a Timeline of Events

ELDs create a precise and unambiguous record of a driver’s actions, which is very helpful for accident investigations because this timeline shows the beginning and ending times of the driver’s shifts, as well as any breaks taken. Investigators working for the lawyer can determine if the driver complied with HOS requirements and whether weariness or fatigue may have been causing the incident by comparing this data with the exact moment of the accident.

Real-Time Data Collection for Accident Reconstruction

Reconstructing the incidents that preceded the trucking accident is essential to establishing culpability and comprehending the flow of events in the case of a collision, and in this sense ELDs are rather helpful as they provide up-to-date information about a driver’s actions leading up to an accident.

Driving hours, rest periods, and other data that help determine whether driver weariness or noncompliance with HOS restrictions contributed to the accident may be done in large part by having accurate information from the ELDs.  

How Attorneys Use ELD Information to Win Personal Injury Claims

Let’s imagine the scenario where a truck driver nods off and allows their vehicle to drift into the adjacent traffic lane, causing them to sideswipe another car and injure the passengers. In this case, the data on the truck’s ELD may come in handy for your lawyer to establish the facts of the event.

Your attorney can discover if the truck driver violated hours-of-service requirements after obtaining the ELD records, and further inquiry may also reveal that the trucking firm has a history of pressuring truck drivers to disregard these regulations to complete trips more quickly.

When these facts are established by your lawyer with the ELD data, you have a strong possibility of receiving the compensation you are due, and the trucking firm will have to pay for their actions and get deterred from acting carelessly in the future to prevent similar accidents.

The data may also highlight common negligent driving practices that contributed to the collision because ELD data can be an indication of intoxicated or distracted driving if it shows that the vehicle was unpredictable in its speeding and slowing down. Information such as this also helps to increase your compensation amount because the fault of the driver is clearly established by your lawyer beyond doubt.  

Conclusion

Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) are modern electronic devices that get installed in commercial motor vehicles such as trucks, and these automatically log a driver’s actions and the time spent behind the wheel. ELDs also record other crucial details related to their compliance with the hours-of-service (HOS), and these gadgets sync with an automobile’s engine to record information on the amount of time and distance driven, as well as the length of breaks or rest intervals.

In the event of a truck accident, a truck accident lawyer can demand ELD data from the truck company to establish what occurred before and during the accident. A clear timeline and accurate information gathered from ELDs can help you win the case and receive compensation without delay.

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