You may already realize that distracted driving comes in numerous forms, from eating a breakfast burrito on the ride into work to trying to read an email while headed home from the office. Even as you seek to avoid these dangerous distractions, you can’t help but notice how many other drivers don’t pay full attention to the road around them.
You may try to give them some space, but they could still potentially cause a crash that wrecks your vehicle and leaves you so hurt you need to take time off of work. When the police officer arrives at the scene, the other driver probably won’t readily admit that they were singing an operatic performance at the wheel instead of watching for oncoming traffic. It will be your word against theirs.
How do you prove that someone else was distracted when they caused a crash?
Phone records can help
If police officers agree with your suspicions of digital distraction, meaning that someone had a phone in their hand when they caused the crash, they can potentially obtain a court order and get access to the other driver’s phone records. They may not be able to immediately verify distracted driving, but they can with the right process.
Even if the other driver deletes information from their device, they can’t delete the data usage from their phone service provider or the app that they were using. In scenarios where police do not do a proper investigation, an attorney may also be able to go to court and request someone’s phone records to substantiate allegations of misconduct at the wheel.
Through camera footage
There are more cameras recording your activity than ever in human history. Some intersections have cameras, as do some drivers.
Dashboard cameras in your vehicle or any vehicles near you when the crash occurs could capture important footage that shows someone else looking in the back seat to talk to their passenger or clearly holding their phone in their hand. Even security camera footage from nearby businesses and homes could potentially capture someone’s bad behavior at the wheel.
Finding the evidence you need will make it easier for you to get appropriate compensation when a distracted driver causes a car crash.
