Car black boxes can serve as vital evidence in proving auto accident claims. What is a black box? We have heard it in relation with plane crashes, right? Do cars have black boxes as well? Yes, if your car is made after 2014, highly possible that it came with a black box. You cannot see or access a black box that easily. It is hidden inside your dashboard.
Do you know the purpose of a black box? The black boxes record the vehicle speed, number of ignitions, crashes, changes in velocity, use of mobile phones and so on. In case of an auto accident, it can come to your rescue and prove the at-fault driver’s negligence. If you are not at fault, you are saved, or else you are trapped.
Black box data is considered a valuable piece of evidence in legal claims. When it is difficult to prove the cause of accident in complicated accident claims, jury may call for black box data review. They can identify the force of the impact, the speed of the vehicle before the impact and the change in speed at the time of impact or after the impact. These data can be helpful in deciding the relation between the force of the impact and the incurred injuries.
When black box data is needed, biomechanical and accident reconstruction experts or police will access the black box and retrieve the data to analyze the cause. With a special data retrieval system, one can retrieve black box data. In some cases, only the manufacturers can retrieve the data. Expert witnesses make use of the black data to substantiate claims.
Usually, the black boxes store data until 30 days after an impact. Some black boxes store data for a longer time. However, if the vehicle is completely damaged or replaced the airbag, there are chances for the data to be lost. If you are planning to use the black box data for legal needs, get it retrieved as early as possible.
In some circumstances, the black box data cannot be retrieved- 1) when the black box is not working, 2) when a different sized wheel is replaced and the system is not calibrated, and 3) repair shops format the black boxes to be used again at the time of airbag replacement.
In the cases of accidents involving Tiger Woods, the famous golfer and Timothy Murray, former Lt. Governor of Massachusetts, the black box data changed the course of auto accident claims. The presence of black boxes in cars have proven to be successful in reducing accident rates.
