Black Boxes Can Be Used as Evidence in Coweta County Auto Accidents

According to a 2009 Georgia Department of Transportation mileage report, there are 54,746 statewide lane miles and almost 120 million daily vehicle miles traveled. Road congestion and deficiencies create hazards and dangers to all auto travelers.

Consulting a Coweta County attorney after an auto accident enhances a victim's ability to receive a reasonable settlement. If you have been injured in an automobile accident you should discuss your case with an accident attorney at Shane Smith Law.

Some of the determining methods used by auto accident experts include physical evidence, charts, computer simulations, and a black box data recorder or event data recorder (EDR).

A politician in another state who was involved in an auto accident had his automobile black box used as evidence against him. According to the black box the politician was traveling over 100 mph at the time of the collision. The black box recorded the vehicle's speed immediately before and at the time of the accident.

Black boxes record speed, airbag deployment or failures, and other useful information that can be used as evidence in a Coweta County auto accident case. Almost all new vehicles are manufactured with black boxes. The downloaded data can be used in court or can motivate the parties to settle before trial. It can also be beneficial to an accident reconstruction expert and the related testimony.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed that as of Sept. 1, 2014, all cars should be fitted with black boxes. These devices are capable of recovering crash and/or pre-crash data including:

  • Vehicle pre-impact speed;
  • Driver steering input;
  • Driver braking or throttle position before the crash including deceleration or acceleration;
  • Whether the driver is wearing a seat belt;
  • Crash severity.

Only 13 states have passed laws governing how EDR data can be used; Georgia has no legislation which makes it even more important to have an accident attorney in Coweta County. Most state laws require vehicle manufacturers to disclose to new purchasers that vehicles are equipped with EDRs. Some states prohibit the release of black box data unless a court orders the information or a vehicle's owner explicitly consents to the data's retrieval.

Make sure you have access to all the available evidence after an automobile accident including potential black box information. After a car accident, meet with an auto accident lawyer at Shane Smith Law. We can assist you in every stage of your case including obtaining the available evidence.

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