There are many ways for a driver to cause a crash. Some people don’t maintain their vehicles, and then their brakes fail or a tire blows out while they are on the road. Other times, people violate traffic regulations. They exceed the speed limit, run a red light or fail to use their turn signals sometimes. Any of these violations could lead to a preventable collision.
One of the most common causes of crashes in recent years is distracted driving. As people become more dependent on their mobile devices, they have a harder time disconnecting themselves even during a short drive. They may cause a collision because they had their hands off the wheel and their eyes off the road.
Those who cause crashes due to distraction often try to avoid accountability by denying their misconduct. How can the other people involved in a wreck prove that a driver at fault for the crash was digitally distracted at the time of the collision in question?
With camera footage or witness statements
Other people beyond those involved in the crash may have witnessed part of the incident. People in other vehicles nearby may have seen a driver staring down into their lap before they approached the intersection. Even pedestrians may have spotted something awry.
There could potentially be camera footage from a variety of sources that can corroborate claims of distracted driving. There might be traffic cameras at a nearby intersection or security cameras at homes or businesses near the location of the crash. If either of the vehicles involved or a nearby vehicle has a dashboard camera installed, the footage from that camera could be helpful as well.
With phone records
People can very easily hide the evidence of digital misconduct in the moments after a crash. They can delete the sent message or even uninstall the app they used before the collision. A cursory check of their device might not provide any evidence. However, police officers, prosecutors and even attorneys representing injured parties can sometimes obtain phone company records.
Those records can show when someone sent and received messages and when they used mobile data to access different apps. Preserving the information directly on the device is not necessary for digital records to show that someone had their phone in their hands immediately prior to a crash.
In cases where it clearly distracted driver causes a wreck and wants to avoid responsibility, the people affected may need help pursuing justice. Holding a driver accountable for dangerous distracted driving may require both an insurance claim and a lawsuit, depending on the extent of the damage they caused.