Investigative procedures for accidents where commercial vehicles are involved differs greatly from accidents that involve passenger vehicles due to the entire variation among commercial vehicles regarding size, mechanical features and varying sets of government regulations and policies.
Additional notice must also be given to the availability of certain items such as electronic control modules, or better known as black boxes, driver’s log books or global positioning system devices. Quick response to the scene of the accident by rigidly trained personnel is vital for an excellent investigative system.
In a commercial vehicular accident, the first item that has to be secured at all costs is the ECM device, or the black box. This can provide invaluable information on what was happening with the vehicle before and during the accident. This is especially the case if the accident implicates serious fatalities, piling up of multiple vehicles, and other consequences that can generate a lawsuit. During investigation the ECM should be found out immediately and inspected for any damages. The vehicle should not be moved on driven, even if it is still working, because this could alter the data in the black box, rendering it useless.
An onsite evaluation of the accident scene is very critical thing for the overall investigation. If being at the scene is not possible due to inaccessibility, a research from a reliable source of accident information is needed. This is typically obtained in the reports of law enforcement agencies and other authorized bodies conduction investigation. Aspects to be taken note of are vehicle velocities, visibility, roadway situation, weather condition, damage descriptions, progression of collision, and profiles of the people involved, including their accounts for the incident.
A thorough inspection of the vehicles involved in the accident is mandatory in determining the status of the safety systems used in the attempt to avoid the accident. The most important among these is the braking system, which should be checked for mechanical failures, wear and tear, and absence of maintenance. Another important item to be inspected is the vehicle lamps, which includes both brake lights and head lights. A proper assessment will determine if these lights are lit up during impact even if the lights are actually damaged due to the collision.
A Seattle car accident lawyer stresses out a unique aspect regarding commercial vehicular and other fatal car accident, which is the regulation of such vehicles by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The occurrences leading up to the accident may be just as crucial as the investigation of the accident scenario. For instance, such regulations restrict the number of hours a commercial vehicle driver is allowed to have his hands on the steering wheel. This is known as service hours. The driver’s log look, which should be kept and preserved, can provide important information if the driver complies with the limitations placed over hours of service. If the commercial vehicle has a global positioning system tracking device, the data from that device can used to confirm if the log book information is true.
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