It’s no exaggeration when we say speed kills. Statistically speaking, speeding had resulted in 18% of the car crashes in 2016 and 27% of the car crash fatalities. Realistically speaking, speeding worsens the impact of all the vehicles involved, both the at-fault party and the victims. For some reason, most speeding drivers are under the impression that they can’t be caught for their speeding. They refuse to admit fault and insist that they’ve been sticking to the speed limits. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for you, that’s as far from the truth as it can be. There are multiple ways through which you can prove the speeding driver has caused your car accident, and here are a few methods.
Eye Witnesses
Many speeding drivers forget that the scene of the accident includes more than the parties involved in the crash. There are passersby, shop owners, and innocent bystanders that can all testify to the speed at which they were driving. Surely, it can be difficult to accurately testify to the speed at which they were driving. However, someone driving at 80 mph in an intersection can be easily called out on their speeding. Moreover, these eyewitnesses have not been directly involved in the crash, so their encounter can be more accurate than the victims, who might be in shock. In case you’ve suffered a car crash, and there are eyewitnesses, be sure to ask them if they’re willing to testify regarding the incident, and, if they are, get their contact information.
Police Reports
Many states require drivers involved in car crashes to report it to the nearest police station right away. Even if you’re not living in one of these states, be sure to contact the police and report the accident. Once the police officers reach the accident scene, they’ll collect their own witness testimonials, ask for the accounts of all parties involved, and document it in a report. Be sure to ask for a copy of the report; you’ll need to strengthen your claim later on.
Black Box Data
Thanks to new automobile technologies, most modern cars have a built-in black box, also known as onboard electronic devices. These devices record the different activities of the car, and that includes the speed of the car at the time of the collision, when or whether the driver hit brakes before or during the time of the collision, steering input, and other relative information. This data can be downloaded from the car’s diagnostic link detector using special tools, after which it can be used as solid evidence for your claim. Unfortunately, as of 2019, some states have prohibited extracting this information without the permission of the vehicle owner.
Footage of the Accident
Not to fret though, you can still prove the speeding of the negligent driver, even without eyewitnesses of diving into the black box, especially if you live in a city where car accidents are common like Douglasville, GA. The attorneys from https://www.sherrodandbernard.com/car-accident-lawyer/speeding-accidents/ state that taking footage of the accident scene can provide the needed evidence to pinpoint the fault. Simply taking pictures and videos of the accident scene using your mobile phone will carry sufficient evidence that the professionals can investigate and reach a solid conclusion. Better yet, a lawyer can help you get the surveillance footage of surrounding buildings to support your claim. If you’re lucky, a nearby business or home security camera could’ve recorded the speeding car right before or during the accident.
GPS Data
It may sound weird to associate GPS with a speeding accident. While it may not be directly related, there have been reports about using GPS to fight against speeding tickets. This gave rise to another idea: what if you can use the GPS technology to prove speeding? For instance, if the GPS data logs show that the driver was present at one point during a specific time and the distance between that point and the scene of the accident couldn’t have been crossed unless the driver had surpassed the speeding limit, then that could prove to be guilty.
Physical Evidence
Sometimes, the point of impact is all the evidence that any onlooker needs to prove the fault; that is usually the case with rear-end collisions. Alternatively, a professional investigator can look at the skid marks to make their deduction. Long and deep skid marks point to the efforts of a speeding driver at using the brakes to stop before impact but failing to stop in time. Other evidence can be found in the road debris and the extent of car damage.
What the speeding driver fails to realize is that the physical evidence left behind after the crash is perhaps the most incriminating evidence. Any professional witness can easily incriminate the speeding driver by looking at the extent of damage and the evidence left behind. Even without the physical evidence, there are many ways to prove the speeding of a negligent car driver.