In trucking cases physics matters, but evidence often decides the outcome. The federal regulations, 49 CFR Part 390 include a set of record rules that sound administrative, but are important for trucking injury litigation.
This requirement drives operational behavior. A compliant carrier trains safety staff to maintain centralized records or at least a reliable index. A compliant carrier builds a process for pulling documents quickly from terminals, third party systems, and electronic providers. A compliant carrier also understands that records include more than paper. They include electronic images, electronic documents, and systems that must reproduce the information accurately.
A federal investigation into a fatal crash highlights why record integrity matters. The National Transportation Safety Board investigated a December 2022 rear end collision in Virginia involving a tractor trailer operated by Triton Logistics Incorporated of Romeoville, Illinois. NTSB The NTSB described how the truck traveled far faster than the bus and the driver did not brake before impact. NTSB Reporting on the NTSB findings described fictitious driver accounts in an electronic logging device system that allowed drivers to exceed hours limits, which the NTSB linked to driver fatigue.
In a serious trucking injury case, Zneimer & Zneimer PC acts like a data preservation team on day one. The firm sends preservation demands to the carrier, the driver, the broker if applicable, and any known technology vendors. The firm targets records that often vanish first, including electronic logging device data, driver communications, dispatch messages, GPS history, engine control module data, and maintenance scheduling records. When the carrier delays or produces gaps, the firm uses Part 390’s record access and reproducibility expectations to argue that the gaps reflect noncompliance, not bad luck.
The firm also prepares to explain record issues to a jury in plain language. A trucking company chooses its record systems. The regulations allow electronic documents, but they demand stability and accurate reproduction. When a carrier cannot produce clean records, the firm frames that failure as a safety choice that increases crash risk and blocks accountability.
If you were injured in an accident, evidence must be preserved as soon as possible. Contact our office for free consultation and assistance at 773-516-4100.