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Quick answer: Federal law lets trucking companies destroy most crash evidence on a schedule. Driver vehicle inspection reports can be discarded after 3 months under 49 C.F.R. § 396.11(c)(2). Electronic logging device records and hours-of-service logs after 6 months under § 395.8(k)(1). Vehicle maintenance files after 1 year under § 396.3(c). None of that is illegal - it is the minimum the regulations require. A spoliation letter sent early is what converts those minimums into a legal duty to preserve.
Most people injured by an 18-wheeler wait weeks before calling a lawyer. They are in treatment, dealing with adjusters, and assuming the evidence will still be there. In a commercial trucking case, some of it will not be.
Why a Truck Case Runs on a Different Clock Than a Car Case
After an ordinary collision, the evidence is largely static. The vehicles exist, the crash report gets filed, the photos stay on someone’s phone.
A commercial truck case is different in two ways.
First, the most important evidence is not at the scene at all. It is inside the carrier’s computer systems, in a driver’s personnel file, and in a maintenance bay somewhere. You cannot photograph it and the carrier is not going to volunteer it.
Second, that evidence is on a federal deletion schedule. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations tell carriers how long they must keep each category of record. Once the minimum period runs, the carrier can lawfully destroy it, and many do as a matter of routine records management.
Meanwhile, the carrier’s own response has already started. Serious crashes trigger rapid-response protocols. Adjusters, safety directors, and defense counsel are frequently working the file within hours, sometimes before the injured person leaves the emergency room. They know exactly which records matter, because they created them
The Retention Timeline
Here is what the federal regulations actually require. These are minimums, not guarantees. A carrier may keep records longer, and many do for their own liability reasons - but nothing compels them to once the clock runs out.
3 months - Driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs)
Drivers must report defects that would affect safety at the end of each day’s work. The carrier keeps the original report, the certification that defects were repaired, and the driver’s review certification for three months from the date the report was prepared, under 49 C.F.R. § 396.11(c)(2).
Why it matters: a DVIR flagging brake problems in the weeks before a crash is powerful evidence a carrier knew about a defect. Ninety days after that report was written, it can be gone.
6 months - Hours-of-service logs, ELD data, and supporting documents
This is the big one. Under 49 C.F.R. § 395.8(k)(1), a carrier must retain records of duty status and all supporting documents for each driver for not less than six months from the date of receipt. FMCSA guidance confirms the same six-month period applies to ELD data.
“Supporting documents” is broader than most people expect. Under § 395.11 it includes bills of lading, dispatch records, trip reports, fuel receipts showing time and place, toll receipts, and payroll records - the paper trail that reveals whether a driver’s logs were honest.
A separate rule requires a backup copy of ELD records to be kept on a device separate from the original, also for six months, under § 395.22(i).
Why it matters: hours-of-service data is how fatigue cases get proven. If a driver had been on duty past the federal limit, the ELD shows it - and the supporting documents show whether the log was falsified to hide it. Six months after the crash, both can lawfully disappear.
Note also that carriers commonly rely on a third-party ELD vendor to hold this data. The regulatory duty sits with the carrier, not the vendor. If a subscription lapses or the vendor changes policy, the data can vanish faster than the rule contemplates.
12 months - Roadside inspection reports
Copies of roadside inspection reports are retained for 12 months under § 396.9(d)(3)(ii). A pattern of out-of-service violations in the year before a crash speaks directly to how the carrier managed its fleet.
14 months - Annual periodic inspection reports
Every commercial vehicle must pass an annual inspection under § 396.17, and the report is kept for 14 months under § 396.21(b).
1 year plus 6 months - Vehicle maintenance files
The per-vehicle maintenance file - identification, scheduled maintenance, and the dated record of every inspection and repair - is retained where the vehicle is housed or maintained for one year, and for six months after the vehicle leaves the carrier’s control, under § 396.3(c).
That second clause matters more than it looks. If the carrier sells the tractor after the crash, the file only has to survive six more months.
3 years - Accident register and driver qualification files
Carriers keep an accident register and associated files for three years after the date of the accident under § 390.15(b)(2).
The driver qualification file - employment application, motor vehicle records, annual reviews, certification of violations, medical certificates - is kept for the duration of employment plus three years after termination under § 391.51.
Why it matters: the DQF is where negligent hiring and negligent retention cases live. If the carrier put a driver on the road with a documented history it should have caught, that file is the proof.
5 years - Positive drug and alcohol test results
Under 49 C.F.R. § 382.401(b)(1), records of alcohol test results of 0.02 or greater and verified positive controlled substance test results are kept for five years. Records of negative and cancelled tests are kept only one year.
No fixed federal period - ECM “black box” data
The engine control module records speed, braking, throttle position, and fault codes in the seconds around a crash. There is no FMCSA retention rule that guarantees it survives. ECM memory is finite and can be overwritten by continued operation, cleared during diagnostics, or lost when the tractor is repaired or sold.
This is often the single most valuable piece of evidence in a truck case, and it is the one with the least protection. Preserving it is a matter of days, not months.
The Spoliation Letter: What Actually Stops the Clock
A preservation letter - often called a spoliation letter - is written notice to the carrier and its insurer identifying the specific records to be preserved and demanding they not be destroyed or altered.
Under Georgia law, spoliation is the destruction of, or failure to preserve, evidence relevant to contemplated or pending litigation. In Phillips v. Harmon, 297 Ga. 386 (2015), the Georgia Supreme Court held that the duty to preserve is viewed from the perspective of the party controlling the evidence, and arises when that party knows or reasonably should know that the injured person is contemplating litigation. Notice can be actual or constructive - the court identified factors including the type and extent of the injury, how clear fault is, the potential financial exposure, and the defendant’s own conduct after the incident.
A preservation letter removes the argument entirely. Once it is received, the carrier cannot claim it did not know litigation was contemplated.
The consequences of destroying evidence after that point are serious. Georgia courts can order sanctions ranging from a jury instruction that the destroyed evidence would have been unfavorable to the party that destroyed it, to excluding evidence or barring a party from contesting a fact, up to default judgment or dismissal.
That presumption can change the shape of a case. A carrier that deletes ELD data after receiving a preservation letter may find the jury instructed to assume those logs showed a fatigued driver.
What a Preservation Letter Should Demand
A generic letter asking a carrier to “preserve all relevant evidence” invites a narrow reading. An effective letter names the records:
- ELD and hours-of-service data for the driver, including the separately stored backup copy
- All § 395.11 supporting documents - bills of lading, dispatch records, trip reports, fuel and toll receipts, payroll
- ECM and telematics data, with a demand that the tractor not be repaired, sold, or returned to service before inspection
- Driver qualification file in full
- Vehicle maintenance file, DVIRs, roadside inspection reports, and annual inspection reports for the tractor and trailer
- Post-accident drug and alcohol testing records
- Dashcam, in-cab camera, and any fleet video footage
- Onboard communications between driver and dispatch
- The carrier’s own accident register entry and internal investigation materials
It should also demand that the vehicle be preserved in its post-crash condition for inspection by the injured party’s expert.
The Deadline Behind All of This
Georgia’s statute of limitations for most personal injury claims is two years from the date of injury under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. That is the outer boundary for filing suit.
But the evidence timeline is far shorter than the filing timeline, and that gap is where truck cases are won or lost. A claim filed at 23 months is timely and may still be unprovable, because the DVIRs went 20 months earlier and the ELD data 17 months earlier.
If a government entity is involved - a municipal truck, a county vehicle, a road defect - ante litem notice requirements arrive much sooner, generally six months for municipalities under O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5.
What To Do Now
If you or a family member was hurt by a commercial truck in Georgia, the practical sequence is short:
- Get medical treatment and keep treating. Gaps in care are the most common argument insurers use to devalue a claim.
- Do not give the carrier’s insurer a recorded statement. Their adjuster is building a defense file, not helping you.
- Photograph the tractor and trailer if you safely can, including the USDOT number, carrier name, and trailer markings. Those identify who to send the letter to.
- Get a lawyer involved in days, not months. The preservation letter is the whole ballgame, and every week of delay is a week of records aging toward their deletion date.
Georgia Truck Accident FAQs
Six months. Under 49 C.F.R. § 395.8(k)(1), a motor carrier must retain records of duty status and all supporting documents for each driver for not less than six months from the date of receipt. The same six-month period applies to ELD data, and a backup copy must be kept on a separate device under § 395.22(i). After six months, the carrier can lawfully destroy them unless a preservation letter or litigation hold requires otherwise.
A spoliation or preservation letter is written notice to the trucking company and its insurer identifying specific evidence and demanding it not be destroyed or altered. Under Phillips v. Harmon, 297 Ga. 386 (2015), a defendant’s duty to preserve arises when it knows or reasonably should know the injured party is contemplating litigation. The letter establishes that notice conclusively and removes any argument the carrier was unaware.
Yes, until a duty to preserve attaches. Federal retention periods are minimums - once they expire, routine destruction is lawful. What changes the analysis is notice of contemplated litigation. After that point, destroying relevant evidence is spoliation and exposes the carrier to sanctions.
Georgia courts can impose sanctions ranging from a jury instruction that the destroyed evidence would have been harmful to the party that destroyed it, to excluding evidence, barring a party from contesting a fact, entering default judgment, or dismissing a claim. The presumption is rebuttable, but it shifts the case significantly.
The engine control module records speed, braking, throttle position, and fault codes around the time of a crash. Unlike logs and maintenance files, no federal rule guarantees how long it survives. It can be overwritten by continued driving, cleared during service, or lost when the tractor is repaired or sold - which is why preserving it is a matter of days.
Two years from the date of the injury for most personal injury claims under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33. Claims involving a government entity require ante litem notice much sooner - generally six months for municipalities under O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5. The filing deadline is far longer than the evidence deadline, which is why waiting is costly even when you are still within the statute.
Not necessarily. Some records last three to five years, including the driver qualification file and the accident register, and third parties often hold copies of material the carrier has discarded. The sooner a preservation letter goes out, the more survives - but a case is not over because some records aged out.
Hurt by a commercial truck in North Georgia?
Pirkle Law Firm handles truck and 18-wheeler cases from its Cumming office, serving Forsyth, Gwinnett, Hall, Dawson, and North Fulton counties. Consultations are free, Spanish-language support is available, and you pay nothing unless we recover for you. Call 770-882-2200.Contact Us Form
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