Truck crashes are arguably the most horrific type of motor vehicle accident. Collisions involving one or more of these huge commercial motor vehicles usually involve victims suffering severe bodily harm. Why? The size and weight of a fully loaded tractor-trailer, semi-truck, flatbed, tanker truck, etc., can cause tremendous damage to other vehicles, including other 18-wheelers, even at low speeds. And a truck crash can happen in a matter of seconds, where one or more victims will succumb to their injuries.
- For more, read: Illinois and Indiana: Both Top 10 States for Most Truck Crash Fatalities; Chicago Semi-Truck Crash: Common Causes, Greater Danger of Truck Accidents in Chicagoland; Huge and Growing Freight Truck Traffic in Northern Indiana: Increasing Danger of Semi-Truck Crashes.
Most semi-truck accidents will be followed by lengthy investigations by several different interests. Each investigation will require experts from different fields to reconstruct the events and determine the causes of the crash. Why did this tragedy happen? More than one team comprised of experts like Telematics Forensic Analysts; Data Recovery Professionals; Accident Reconstructionists; and EDR Specialists may be needed to compile, organize, and understand truck crash digital information among other things (think dashcam footage, witness statements) before forming their final opinions.
And among the most important sources of raw digital data used by these teams of crash investigation experts is the electronic logging device, or “ELD,” that will be found installed inside the big truck’s engine compartment.
What is an ELD?
An “electronic logging device” or “ELD” is a gizmo installed on a semi-truck and governed by 29 CFR §395.26 et seq. as overseen by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”). ELDs exist for safety. They are intended to make our roads safer by decreasing the likelihood of catastrophic or fatal commercial truck accidents due to tired, fatigued, or drowsy truck drivers. Read, Commercial Truck Safety and Truck Driver Fatigue: Fatal Truck Crashes, ELDs, and HOS Rules.
ELDs are essentially data recorders powered directly by the vehicle’s engine. That direct connection allows the ELD to capture all sorts of data and store it for future review, such as dates; times; locations; hours the engine is running; miles the vehicle travels; the identification of the driver operating the vehicle; and the carrier involved. All this information must be tracked by the ELD pursuant to 29 CFR §395.26.
Key here is that relationship between the ELD and the vehicle itself. Technologically, the ELD relies upon the engine and not the driver or operator of the motor vehicle. It is a physical interface that omits the need for the human to provide information.
The ELD’s automatic gathering of data arguably not only lessens things like the temptation to fudge things in regard to reporting Hours of Service (“HOS”) compliance by the driver, but increases the respect that the automation gives the records for any future use as evidence in court. For details, read Appendix A to Subpart B of Part 395-Functional Specifications for All Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs).
The ELD Rule (49 CFR Part 395, Subpart B)
ELDs have been required to be installed on commercial motor vehicles (think commercial buses and trucks) used in U.S. interstate commerce since 2012 by Section 32301(b) of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act.
FMCSA explains the overall federal “ELD Rule” as follows:
- Requires ELD use by commercial drivers who are required to prepare hours-of-service (HOS) records of duty status (RODS).
- Sets ELD performance and design standards, and requires ELDs to be certified and registered with FMCSA.
- Establishes what supporting documents drivers and carriers are required to keep.
- Prohibits harassment of drivers based on ELD data or connected technology (such as fleet management system). The rule also provides recourse for drivers who believe they have been harassed.
How ELDs Work in Trucks Driving Roadways in Illinois and Indiana
Trucks owned and operated by carriers and companies all over the country, and truck drivers licensed by states throughout the nation, move through Illinois and Indiana as part of our “Crossroads of America.” Truck traffic here is among the highest in the United States, as goods and cargo move from ports and factories to destinations from coast to coast. For more, read Semi Trucks and Big Rigs: High Indiana and Illinois Commercial Truck Traffic Creates Dangerous Conditions.
Regardless of the state origins of the rig or the driver, FMCSA oversees federal regulations regarding ELDs. FMCSA regulatory power impacts both the carriers and the truckers moving large trucks through Indiana and Illinois.
The FMCSA regulations require all motor carriers to conform with ELD specifics when they rumble through Illinois and Indiana, unless there are limited exceptions to the regulations’ application (think intrastate; smaller vehicle; etc.). This includes using ELDs that meet the criteria for what they can do; making sure each ELD on their trucks is registered with proper export formats and audit trails; and that each user account is properly managed (user names, driver identification, etc.). See, 29 CFR §395.22.
Pursuant to FMCSA regulations, the trucker legally has to input things like duty status and to produce ELD records upon request. These regulations work to make sure that the trucker’s actions are corresponding accurately with the ELD on the truck they are operating. See, 29 CFR §295.24.
ELD Records May Help Prove Truck Accident Injury Liability
The digital information that is stored in a big rig’s ELD can be invaluable to experts trying to piece together all the facts after a serious accident so they can figure out exactly what happened – and why. Experts from FMCSA may be reviewing this data, as well as law enforcement; insurance adjusters and defense counsel for those who may have legal liability; and advocates for the truck crash victims.
The electronic logging system may help establish a timeline of events. It may clarify when the truck was moving and when it stopped; how long the trucker had been behind the wheel before the crash; and more.
The ELD data will be compared to required safety regulations to make sure that they were being followed (or not). The data may also provide clues regarding the operation of the vehicle on the roadway (was it being operated in a reasonable and prudent manner in the conditions that existed at the time of impact?). Failure to comply with FMCSA regulations can help support claims not just for workers’ compensation benefits but for legal causes of action against third parties liable for the harm resulting from the truck crash.
Important to Get the ELD Data Before It Disappears
It is important for truck crash victims, including the trucker and rig occupants, to be aware that the ownership of the vehicle and its ELD is critical to their need to preserve and protect its data for future analysis. Automated logging records may not be (and should not be) the top priority after a crash. Victims need medical care and treatment. Loved ones need to comfort and to be supported after this life-altering event.
However, time will be ticking here insofar as getting that logging data before it is overwritten or flat out deleted by those with possession, custody, or control of the information and/or the device itself. FMCSA mandates a six-month retention of ELD records. See, 49 CFR §§395.22, 395.8.
Crash victims are wise to have the help of legal advocates here with experience in dealing with protecting evidence, especially digital data. Legal notices can be forwarded as necessary to demand the preservation of all ELD data (as well as any other potential evidence) alongside warnings against “spoliation” and a request that all related digital trucking records be safeguarded for the accident victim’s inspection (and eventual review by their accident experts).
For more, read:
- Evidence in Serious or Fatal Semi-Truck Crashes or Car Accidents: What is Crush Analysis?
- Black Box Data in Semi-Truck Crashes: The Importance of EDR Evidence
- Federal FMCSA Regulations of Commercial Trucking: Impact on Truck Accident Claims
- Semi Truck Crash Liability: Third Party Liability in Indiana Truck Accidents
- Negligent Supervision by the Trucking Company and Semi-Truck Crash.
Truck crashes are some of the most horrific accident scenes that happen here in Illinois and Indiana, and we are all at a greater risk of being involved in a semi-truck crash simply because there is so much more commercial truck traffic on our roadways than in other parts of the country. Please be careful out there!
