What evidence should be preserved after a truck accident in Texas?

Truck Accident Evidence Has Hard Expiration Dates — Act in Hours, Not Days

Commercial truck accidents produce a mandatory paper and electronic trail that does not exist in car accident cases — but FMCSA regulations set minimum retention periods, after which carriers can legally destroy this data. Electronic Logging Device records can disappear at six months. Dashcam footage can overwrite in 30 days. Business surveillance is gone in 48–72 hours. Wayne Wright issues same-day preservation demands to stop every clock the moment the firm is retained.

1. Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Data — Highest Priority

Since December 2017, every commercial truck subject to Hours of Service rules must carry a certified ELD that automatically records:

• Total driving hours and on-duty status for each 24-hour period
• Violations of the 11-hour driving limit, 14-hour on-duty window, or 30-minute rest break requirement
• Vehicle location via GPS at each duty status change
• Engine power-on and motion history

Retention risk: FMCSA regulations (49 CFR §395.8) require carriers to retain driver records for only six months. After that minimum period, the data can be legally erased. Wayne Wright sends a written spoliation demand to the carrier within 24 hours of retention, placing them on legal notice that destruction of ELD data constitutes evidence spoliation.

2. Event Data Recorder / Black Box (ECM)

Most commercial trucks are equipped with an Engine Control Module (ECM) or separate Event Data Recorder that captures pre-crash data including:

• Vehicle speed in the seconds and minutes before impact
• Brake application timing and force
• Throttle position and engine RPM
• Seatbelt status and airbag deployment data
• Hard braking events in the days preceding the crash

Retention risk: ECM data can be overwritten if the truck is repaired and returned to service. If the carrier’s maintenance team works on the truck before the data is downloaded, it may be permanently lost. Wayne Wright demands immediate vehicle preservation and retains accident reconstruction experts to perform authorized ECM downloads.

3. Dashcam and Surveillance Footage

• Truck dashcam: Many carriers operate forward-facing and interior-facing cameras. Interior cameras capture driver distraction, phone use, and fatigue behavior. Footage may overwrite on a loop within 48–72 hours unless preserved
• TxDOT traffic cameras: I-35, US-183, MoPac (Loop 1), and SH-130 camera footage overwrites in approximately 30 days
• Austin Transportation Department cameras: Major city intersection cameras on similar 30-day retention windows
• Business surveillance: Gas stations, truck stops, restaurants, and commercial properties near the crash site typically overwrite every 48–72 hours

4. Driver Qualification File

Under 49 CFR Part 391, carriers must maintain a Driver Qualification File (DQF) for every CDL driver that includes:

• CDL copy and all endorsements and restrictions
• DOT physical and current medical examiner’s certificate
• Pre-employment Motor Vehicle Report (MVR)
• Annual MVR review and driver certification of violations
• Road test certificate or equivalent
• Drug and alcohol pre-employment test results

DQF records must be retained for the duration of employment plus three years after. A deficient DQF is evidence of negligent hiring and supervision.

5. Pre-Trip and Post-Trip Inspection Reports (DVIRs)

Federal regulations (49 CFR §396.11) require drivers to complete a Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) at the end of each day. DVIRs document:

• Known defects identified by the driver
• Certification that defects were repaired before the vehicle was returned to service
• Brake, tire, steering, and lighting condition at the time of inspection

DVIRs are retained for 90 days under FMCSA regulations. A DVIR showing known brake defects shortly before the crash is powerful negligence evidence.

6. Drug and Alcohol Post-Accident Testing Records

49 CFR §382.303 requires carriers to conduct post-accident drug and alcohol testing of commercial drivers involved in crashes meeting specific criteria (fatality, injury requiring medical treatment, or vehicle tow). Results must be retained for five years (drug tests) and two years (alcohol tests).

If the carrier failed to conduct required post-accident testing, or if results were positive, these records are critical evidence of both the driver’s condition and the carrier’s compliance failures.

7. Maintenance and Repair Records

Every commercial vehicle inspection, maintenance, and repair record going back years can establish a pattern of deferred maintenance — brake wear ignored, tire condition documented but not corrected, defects identified and signed off without repair. Under 49 CFR §396.3, carriers must retain maintenance records for one year after the vehicle leaves their control.

8. Cargo Documentation

• Bill of lading showing cargo weight and description
• Weight tickets from loading facility or weigh stations
• Cargo securement plan for non-standard loads
• Hazardous materials manifest and placarding documentation if applicable

Wayne Wright’s Same-Day Evidence Preservation Protocol

Call 512-543-4397 before a single day passes. Within hours of retention, Wayne Wright issues written spoliation letters to the carrier, its insurer, and every third party in the evidence chain. The firm subpoenas TxDOT and city camera operators, sends preservation demands to nearby businesses, retains an accident reconstruction expert to download ECM data, and secures the FMCSA SAFER database record of the carrier’s safety history. This work happens before the carrier’s own investigators have finished their scene documentation.