A truck crash on a Georgia highway may leave you without an eyewitness when you need to file claim. This is where an electronic logging device (ELD) can come in, and knowing about it can help you strengthen your injury case.
The device explained
An ELD connects to a truck’s engine and automatically records driving time, engine hours, miles traveled and vehicle location. Because it collects much of this information directly from the vehicle, it can provide a more consistent record than handwritten logs.
Federal law has required the device in most commercial trucks since December 2019. The mandate supports enforcement of hours-of-service rules, which generally limit driving to 11 hours within a 14-hour duty window and require a 30-minute break after eight cumulative hours of driving without a qualifying interruption. Exceptions may apply to vehicles with engines built before model year 2000 and certain short-haul drivers who use time records.
The way this helps establish liability
Hours-of-service records can help show whether fatigue contributed to a crash, a point often disputed in trucking claims. For example, a log demonstrating that a driver was near the 11-hour driving limit might support an argument that fatigue affected judgment or reaction time.
Under Georgia law, violating a safety rule may amount to negligence per se when the rule protects people in your position from the type of harm that occurred. This can demonstrate a breach of duty, but you must still show that the violation caused or contributed to the crash and your injuries.
Punitive damages may also be available if clear and convincing evidence shows conscious indifference to the consequences. The state generally caps these awards at $250,000, but it may not apply if the trucker intended to cause harm or was substantially impaired by alcohol or drugs.
The need to preserve evidence
Federal laws require motor carriers to retain ELD records and supporting documents for at least six months. A carrier generally need not keep more than eight supporting documents for each driver’s 24-hour period. After that period, the carrier is no longer required to preserve those records.
A preservation letter, sometimes called a spoliation letter, identifies crash-related records and asks the carrier to retain them beyond its usual schedule. This helps prevent routine deletion or overwriting while investigators review the content. If relevant evidence later becomes unavailable, a Georgia court can review the circumstances and determine whether a remedy is appropriate.
Furthermore, the state usually gives you two years from the date of the incident to file a claim. Because of this limited window, working together with an attorney allows you to gather the ELD, among other relevant evidence for your case.