What If an 18-Wheeler Driver Was Using a Cellphone When They Hit Me?

If you believe the truck driver who hit you was using a cellphone, that issue should be investigated quickly.

Federal rules prohibit covered commercial drivers from texting while driving and restrict hand-held mobile-phone use while operating commercial motor vehicles.

Cellphone evidence can therefore become extremely important after a serious 18-wheeler wreck.

What Cellphone Use Is Restricted?

FMCSA states that covered CMV drivers are prohibited from texting while driving and are restricted from holding or improperly reaching for a phone to conduct voice communications. Hands-free use is treated differently under the federal rules.

The precise rule applicable to a particular driver depends on the operation and circumstances.

What If the Driver Was Texting?

Texting can create visual, manual, and cognitive distraction.

FMCSA has specifically prohibited texting by covered interstate commercial drivers.

If texting is suspected, records may be sought through appropriate legal procedures.

Can Cellphone Records Prove It?

They may provide useful evidence.

Depending on what is legally obtainable, records may help establish activity around the time of the collision.

However, records must be interpreted carefully.

The existence of a call or data event does not automatically prove exactly what the driver was doing.

What About the Driver’s Actual Phone?

The device itself may potentially contain information relevant to the investigation.

Preservation issues can arise quickly.

Could the Truck’s Camera Show Phone Use?

Yes, if the fleet uses driver-facing cameras and footage was recorded.

Forward-facing footage may also show delayed braking or lane departure consistent with distraction.

What If the Driver Was Using a Hands-Free Call?

A hands-free call is different from prohibited hand-held use under the federal mobile-phone rule.

Nevertheless, the surrounding facts should still be examined when attention is disputed.

Could Dispatch Messages Be Involved?

Yes.

Commercial drivers may communicate with dispatch through fleet devices.

FMCSA warns that using dispatching devices while driving can be distracting.

Could the Trucking Company Be Responsible?

Potentially.

Federal rules also prohibit motor carriers from requiring or allowing covered drivers to engage in prohibited texting or hand-held phone use while driving.

Company policies, dispatch practices, training, and prior violations may therefore matter.

What Other Evidence Should Be Preserved?

Potential evidence includes:

• cellphone information;
• driver-facing video;
• dashcam footage;
• dispatch communications;
• GPS;
• telematics;
• ELD information;
• witnesses; and
• police reports.

What If the Driver Deleted Messages?

Deletion does not necessarily mean all evidence is gone.

Other sources may exist, including carrier records, company systems, device backups, or other legally obtainable information depending on the circumstances.

What Injuries Can Distracted Truck Driving Cause?

A distracted driver may fail to brake, drift from a lane, run a traffic signal, or strike stopped traffic.

Potential injuries include traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, fractures, internal injuries, paralysis, and death.

What Insurance May Apply?

Commercial liability insurance and potentially additional coverage may apply depending on the operation and responsible parties.

What Should I Do?

Seek medical treatment.

Preserve evidence.

Tell law enforcement if you personally observed the driver using a phone.

Identify witnesses who saw the same conduct.

Save your own dashcam footage.

Jacqueline Scott & Associates Investigates Distracted Truck Driving

If an 18-wheeler driver was looking at a phone instead of the road, electronic evidence may help establish what happened.

Jacqueline Scott & Associates can investigate cellphone evidence, truck cameras, dispatch records, electronic data, the motor carrier, and available commercial insurance.

Make ’Em Pay.

Call (318) 746-5997.

Every case is different. Results depend on the specific facts and circumstances of each individual matter. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This article provides general information and is not legal advice.

This article is general information about Louisiana law and is not legal advice. Laws and deadlines can change, and every case depends on its own facts. Past results do not guarantee or predict future outcomes. Reading this page or contacting the firm does not by itself create an attorney-client relationship.