Overview
Kevin Haney, an accident reconstructionist with Rimkus Forensic Consulting, explained how commercial vehicle crash investigations have changed as trucks have become more technologically advanced. Drawing on 19 years of experience and more than 2,500 serious-injury and fatal crash investigations, he emphasized that carriers must act quickly after a major accident to preserve physical evidence, electronic data, video, and company records.
Five years ago, an investigation might have consisted primarily of examining the crash scene, inspecting the brakes, downloading the engine control module, and reviewing basic GPS records. Today, a truck may contain relevant information across numerous electronic modules, collision-mitigation systems, cameras, telematics platforms, and cloud-based applications.
Haney’s central message was that carriers need a defined crash-response process before a serious accident occurs. Defense counsel and qualified reconstruction experts should be involved early so critical evidence is not lost, overwritten, moved, or unnecessarily disclosed.
Modern truck investigations are more complex
Electronic control module downloads remain an important part of crash investigations, but the process is no longer limited to downloading one module from the engine.
Newer trucks may contain relevant data across four or five separate modules. Depending on the manufacturer and vehicle configuration, investigators may be able to recover:
- Vehicle speed
- Brake and clutch use
- Steering information
- Engine and diagnostic fault codes
- Collision warnings
- Object-detection information
- Automatic emergency-braking activity
Downloading this information may take two or three hours on a functioning truck. If the vehicle has lost power or suffered substantial damage, investigators may have to remove modules individually, and the process can take an entire day.
Haney noted that fault-code information can be important even when the truck does not record a traditional hard-braking event. In one example, an engine failure caused a truck to lose power and stop across several lanes of highway. The engine diagnostics helped establish what happened even though the truck did not create a typical crash event.
Collision-mitigation systems provide additional evidence
Modern ABS and collision-mitigation systems may document the sequence leading up to an accident. Depending on the system, the data may show:
- When an object was first detected
- The object’s distance and closing speed
- When the driver received visual or audible warnings
- Whether automatic emergency braking activated
- How the system responded as the truck approached the hazard
Automatic braking, lane-assistance systems, forward-object detection, and other technologies create additional sources of evidence that carriers should expect plaintiff attorneys to request.
The systems differ by manufacturer, and newly released trucks may contain technology that reconstruction experts have not previously encountered. Haney cautioned that investigations involving 2026 and newer vehicles may require additional time while experts identify and access unfamiliar modules.
Video has transformed crash reconstruction
Dash-camera footage has removed much of the uncertainty that previously existed in crash reconstruction. Physical evidence and electronic downloads may allow an expert to determine what most likely occurred, but video can often show exactly what happened.
Video may establish:
- Vehicle positions and angles
- Lane changes
- Driver actions
- The movements of surrounding vehicles
- The time between an emerging hazard and impact
Dash cameras can be extremely valuable when another vehicle caused the crash or when a person makes an exaggerated injury claim after a low-speed collision. However, video is a double-edged sword. When the truck driver is at fault, the same footage can become highly damaging evidence.
Haney recommended involving defense counsel before crash footage is broadly distributed. As a retained reconstruction expert, materials placed in his file may eventually become discoverable during litigation. Counsel can help determine what information should be preserved, reviewed, or provided to an expert at each stage of the case.
Carriers need a consistent video-retention policy
Many video systems store footage in the cloud, and some allow carriers to retrieve longer periods of video surrounding an event. A standard crash clip may include only a few seconds or one minute, while the system may be capable of providing several minutes or more.
A company may adopt a policy that preserves only a defined amount of footage. However, that policy must be written, established in advance, and consistently followed. A company cannot selectively preserve less footage only when a particular accident occurs.
Carriers should understand:
- How long their provider retains footage
- What length and quality of video is available
- Whether longer footage must be specifically requested
- How quickly footage may be overwritten or deleted
Even when a truck loses power during a catastrophic crash, usable footage may remain on the camera or its related modules. Camera manufacturers may be able to recover that footage if the equipment is preserved and sent to them.
Camera speed data may not be accurate
Haney warned carriers not to assume that the speed displayed on camera footage is always reliable.
Some cameras connect directly to the truck and receive speed information from the engine. That data is generally more dependable. Other cameras calculate speed using GPS, which may update only once per second.
GPS speed may be reasonably accurate when a truck is traveling at a consistent speed. It may be misleading during sudden braking because it does not capture every change in speed between updates.
Investigators should compare camera speed with ECM downloads, physical evidence, vehicle damage, tire marks, and other available information before reaching a conclusion.
Physical evidence remains critical
Despite advances in electronic data, Haney said the physical crash scene remains one of the most important parts of an investigation.
Evidence such as tire marks, gouges in the roadway, debris, vehicle damage, and final resting positions can help determine how the collision occurred. Electronic information should be analyzed alongside this evidence rather than used as a substitute for it.
Prompt scene documentation is important because roadway evidence can disappear quickly as traffic resumes, vehicles are removed, weather changes, or cleanup begins.
Brake inspections still matter
Mechanical and brake inspections remain part of serious commercial vehicle crash investigations. Investigators may examine whether the vehicle complied with Department of Transportation requirements, even when braking performance did not directly cause the accident.
Haney noted that plaintiff attorneys may use unrelated maintenance violations to expand a case against the carrier. A brake that is slightly out of adjustment may become a major litigation issue even when it had no meaningful connection to the collision.
The increasing use of disc brakes has simplified some inspections. Disc brakes require less adjustment than traditional drum brakes and can reduce the likelihood of certain maintenance-related allegations.
Preserve cloud-based and company records
Electronic logs, GPS information, dispatch records, telematics, and driver-monitoring alerts are generally stored in the cloud rather than physically downloaded from the truck.
Because plaintiff attorneys know this information exists, carriers should identify and preserve it quickly. Depending on the crash and the advice of counsel, relevant records may include:
- Hours-of-service and electronic logs
- Dispatch and GPS information
- Driver qualification and hiring records
- Maintenance and inspection records
- Camera footage
- Driver-monitoring alerts
- ECM and diagnostic downloads
- ABS and collision-mitigation data
Haney stressed that carriers do not want to discover months later that important evidence was available but was never preserved.
Avoid moving or restarting the truck
One of Haney’s most important practical points involved “last stop” data. Certain Detroit Diesel, Volvo, and Mack systems may record an event after the truck has stopped for approximately 15 seconds.
This information can be especially valuable in crashes involving pedestrians, motorcycles, or bicycles. These impacts may not slow the truck enough to create a traditional hard-braking event, but the truck’s final stop may still generate useful data.
That information may be overwritten if the truck is restarted or driven from the scene.
When circumstances allow, Haney recommended:
- Asking that the truck be towed rather than driven
- Having the driveline properly disconnected
- Securing the keys once law enforcement releases the vehicle
- Preventing anyone from restarting the truck to check its condition
- Downloading the data before the vehicle is moved when possible
Law enforcement controls an active crash scene, and carriers must follow its instructions. However, company representatives and experts can explain that moving the truck may destroy useful evidence and request an alternative, such as towing it to another location.
Hazardous-material situations require coordination
An audience member asked how carriers should respond when moving a damaged tanker could create an even greater hazard.
Haney said emergency responders will generally recognize placards and hazardous-material risks, but experience can vary, particularly in rural areas with volunteer departments. Carrier representatives should communicate clearly if moving the vehicle may worsen a leak, destabilize the tanker, or create another danger.
The immediate priority is public and responder safety. Once the hazardous condition is controlled, the carrier can work with law enforcement and its experts to preserve the truck and its data.
Involve defense counsel and experts early
After a catastrophic crash, Haney recommended involving qualified defense counsel as quickly as possible. Counsel can provide confidentiality protections, help manage preservation obligations, and determine when an accident reconstruction expert should be sent to the scene.
A rapid-response expert may be able to:
- Document the crash scene before evidence disappears
- Inspect the truck and trailer
- Preserve electronic modules
- Download time-sensitive data
- Communicate with law enforcement
- Prevent the truck from being moved or restarted unnecessarily
- Coordinate with manufacturers when equipment is damaged
The actions taken during the first hours after an accident can affect the case years later. A decision made on the first day should not create legal or evidentiary problems three years into litigation.
Main takeaway
Commercial vehicle crash response has become a data-preservation exercise as much as a physical investigation. Modern trucks contain information across engines, braking systems, collision-mitigation technology, cameras, telematics platforms, and cloud-based records.
Carriers should know what technology is installed in their vehicles, maintain consistent retention policies, establish clear crash-response procedures, and have defense counsel and reconstruction experts available before a serious accident occurs.
The most important immediate steps are to preserve the scene, preserve the truck, avoid restarting or driving it when possible, secure electronic and company records, and involve the appropriate legal and technical experts early.