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FINNEYINJURYLAW.COM // 314-293-4222
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Defining the Values and Roles of a Growing Law Firm
2
New Family Aquatic Sports for Summer Fun
2
Smart Tips to Avoid Accidents With Heavy Trucks
3
The House That Spite Built
4 3
Simple Summer Garden Pasta
What Happened? Investigating Collisions Involving Commercial Trucks
In every investigation, time is of the essence. Because commercial vehicles often drive long distances, most HVEDR systems overwrite quickly. Simply turning the key, known as an ignition cycle, can cause the onboard computer to overwrite the data. In addition to the EDR data, most commercial motor vehicles use a telematics system. Think of telematics as the “brain” of the truck. It integrates with the truck’s onboard computer systems and typically sends operations data back to fleet managers. Telematics help maintain hours-of-service logs for drivers and monitor fuel efficiency, dispatch commands, GPS location, and even driver behavior, such as speed and seatbelt use. Telematics also integrate video data from driver-facing cameras or roadway-facing dash cameras. Lastly, telematic systems can also provide maintenance data reflecting the vehicle’s mechanical soundness. When clients and their families come to us after a crash involving a commercial vehicle, we pride ourselves on our swift and intelligent effort. We have a network of trained commercial motor vehicle experts across the country to assist us. Using our Bosch CDR to gather data on accidents is just one more way we ensure the best possible investigative support for our clients.
The Issues We Face CRASH INVESTIGATION — A COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE PERSPECTIVE
I have written in the past about our firm’s use of the Bosch Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) system. This valuable tool is a real difference-maker for us in accident investigations because it enables us to retrieve data from a vehicle’s airbag control module (ACM), or “black box,” after a crash. One of the interesting nuances is the difference between crashes involving a commercial vehicle versus a passenger car. The data in that black box is objective and time-stamped, and it is a key tool accident reconstruction experts use to re- create a crash. It is the silent eyewitness to an often horrific and life-changing event for our clients and their families. The event data recorder system in commercial vehicles, such as a semitruck, dump truck, or box truck, is known as a heavy vehicle EDR, or HVEDR. HVEDR systems are typically triggered to record data for analysis every time the truck experiences a “hard brake” event.
Practicing in Missouri and Illinois
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