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A Car’s Black Box Can Help Prove Fault

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Most vehicles on the roadway have black boxes, also known as EDRs – Event Data Recorders. If an insurance adjuster is telling you that liability is disputed, the EDR in your car and the other driver’s car can help determine fault for the accident.

Cars, trucks and motorcycles have EDRs. The EDR device looks like a small box, the size of an iPod. It’s usually placed under the driver’s seat or center console.

The EDR is triggered to record information in crash or near crash-like situations, such as when airbags deploy or hitting a road obstacle.

INFORMATION THE EDR CAN PROVIDE

A car’s EDR can answer these questions:

  • How severe was the crash? Was the driver speeding?
  • Did the vehicle stop at the stop sign? Or was it a rolling stop?
  • How many seconds before impact did the left-turning driver initiate his/her left turn?
  • In a multi-vehicle rear-end collision: which collision occurred first?
  • How many impacts occurred?
  • Did the driver react and brake or swerve in a prompt fashion?
  • Were vehicle occupants wearing seatbelts?

HOW THE EDR DATA CAN HELP YOUR CLAIM

The data extracted from an EDR can help prove your case.

  • If you were in a multi-vehicle accident, the EDR data can prove you stopped before you were rear-ended and pushed into the car ahead.
  • If it’s a “he said – she said” accident, with no witnesses or video, the EDR data can back up your version of events.
  • The EDR’s measure of the impact force can support your claim of severe injuries.
  • If an accident resulted in death or loss of memory, the EDR data can be the “voice” of the driver who is unable to state what happened.

IMPORTANCE OF GETTNG BLACK BOX DATA ASAP AFTER AN ACCIDENT

To preserve the black box data, it is important to download the data in the black box as soon as possible after a car crash. Reason? The black box data could be lost if the car is in subsequent accidents or sold.

HOW TO GET EDR DATA

Unfortunately, you cannot just pull out the EDR and plug it into your computer to access the information it holds. A professional needs to be hired to access the black box, download the data, and interpret the data.

If you or a loved one was injured in a car, truck or motorcycle accident and the insurance company is wrongly blaming you for the crash, call us for a free consultation. We charge nothing upfront. We only get paid if we are successful in recovering money for you. Read about our how our fee works here. The sooner you call us after an accident, the better. We can hire an expert to obtain EDR data. The EDR in your car and the other driver’s car can prove the other driver was at fault, and it is important to download that black bot data before it disappears.

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