Truck Black Box Data: Video With Jon Hollan

Jon Hollan sits down with Everyday Kentucky for a Truck Talk segment on truck black box data: what the recorders are, who pulls the data after a crash, what sets off a recording, and what the download can show. The episode runs 2 minutes 32 seconds.

This page is the video and its key points. For the legal side, including the preservation demand, the download and what happens when a carrier lets the data disappear, the page on truck black box evidence and preservation covers each step.

Key Moments

Black Box Basics From the Episode

Jon describes a black box as a computer or data recording device that captures data around a crash or another triggering event, so the people reconstructing the crash can see what happened. Planes are the familiar example, but trucks and passenger vehicles carry them too.

In a car, an airbag deployment usually sets off the recording. In a truck, it is usually a hard brake. When data is available, Jon explains, a download typically covers about 5 seconds up to a minute or several minutes before and after the crash.

He lists what that data can show: speed, braking, timing and steering wheel rotation, and in some cases signs of fatigue or distraction, which together show what the driver did or did not do that could have avoided the crash.

Who Pulls the Data After a Crash

Police rarely download it. In the episode, Jon notes that something serious usually has to happen first, typically a fatality or a crash involving an officer. Most crashes police respond to never get a download.

In serious truck cases, the firm brings in reconstruction professionals and goes to wherever the vehicles sit, often a tow lot or salvage yard, to reach the module inside or underneath the vehicle and download the data from the engine. That only works while the data still exists, which is why the preservation steps start right after the crash.

Comparing the Recording Systems

The episode treats the black box as one device. On a commercial truck, the engine control module, the electronic logging device and the event data recorder function each keep different data on a different schedule. The differences are laid out in ECM, ELD and EDR compared.

Legal Representation

Jon Hollan leads commercial vehicle cases for Sam Aguiar Injury Lawyers in Lexington and handles truck crash cases across Kentucky. When a truck’s data matters to a case, the team sends the preservation demand, arranges the download and reads the data next to the driver’s logs and the carrier’s maintenance records.

Truck crash cases are handled under the Bigger Share Guarantee®: clients walk away with more than the firm after medical bills, liens and case costs are paid. The fee does not go up if the case goes to trial, and clients pay $0 Out-Of-Pocket Forever. Call (859) 888-8000 in Lexington or (502) 888-8888 in Louisville to request a free case review.