Kenny Habetz Injury Law | July 1, 2025 | Car Accident
Gathering evidence after a car accident in Louisiana is one of the most critical steps in building a strong personal injury case. One powerful but often overlooked source of information is a car’s “black box.” This device can provide key data that may clarify what happened during a crash. But what is a black box, and does your car have one?
What Is a Black Box in a Car?
A black box, or Event Data Recorder, is a device installed in many vehicles to record specific information about a vehicle and its operations. A black box is usually integrated into the vehicle’s airbag control module or powertrain control unit. They are not always recording data, but are instead programmed to save data when certain “events” occur, such as sudden braking, impact, or airbag deployment.
The purpose of a black box is to help engineers, crash investigators, and personal injury lawyers better understand how an accident unfolded. A driver’s memory of an accident may be incomplete, but a black box can offer a more impartial version of events.
What Data Does a Black Box Record?
A black box can record several types of data in the seconds leading up to, during, and after an accident. The specific data recorded will depend on the make and model of your vehicle.
Common data points include:
- Vehicle speed
- Throttle position and acceleration
- Brake application and timing
- Engine RPM
- Steering angle
- Seat belt usage
- Airbag deployment timing
- Whether cruise control was engaged
- Time from impact to full stop
This information can be crucial when two drivers have conflicting accounts of how an accident happened. It can also provide objective evidence that confirms or contradicts eyewitness statements or police reports.
Do All Vehicles Have a Black Box?
Not every car in the United States has a black box, but most newer models do. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued regulations that effectively make EDRs standard in nearly all light passenger vehicles manufactured after September 1, 2014. This means that your vehicle likely has a black box if it was manufactured in the last decade, though older vehicles may also have one.
If you are unsure whether your car has a black box, you can:
- Check your owner’s manual
- Look for the airbag control module under the driver’s seat or center console
- Ask the manufacturer or dealership
- Speak with an experienced accident reconstruction expert
Knowing whether your vehicle has a black box can be important after a crash.
How Is Black Box Data Retrieved?
Retrieving data from a black box requires specialized tools and software. Accident reconstruction experts use advanced retrieval systems to download the contents of the device. If your car was severely damaged in an accident, the black box itself may be compromised, making it difficult, or even impossible, to recover the crash data.
A car accident lawyer can help you take steps to preserve black box data before it is destroyed. In many cases, your attorney may need to send a formal request to the other driver, their insurance company, or the vehicle owner—particularly in cases involving commercial trucks. If the car is towed to a salvage yard or sold for parts, the opportunity to extract that data could be lost forever.
How Can Black Box Data Help in a Louisiana Car Accident Case?
Evidence is key in any personal injury claim. Louisiana follows a comparative fault system under La. Civ. Code Art. 2323, which means that if you are found to be partially at fault for your accident, your compensation will be reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault.
This makes it critical to present strong, objective evidence to establish liability. Black box data can demonstrate that another driver was speeding, failed to brake, or took no action to avoid a collision. If the other party blames you for the crash, black box data may be used to show your vehicle’s speed, braking activity, or steering inputs.
This kind of evidence is especially useful in accidents where there are no witnesses, such as those occurring late at night or in rural areas. It can also help challenge inaccurate police reports or assumptions made by responding officers who did not witness the crash firsthand. In wrongful death cases, where the victim cannot speak for themselves, black box data may be one of the only ways to reconstruct their actions before the collision.
How Long Does Black Box Data Last?
Most black boxes record a limited window of time, typically just the 5 to 20 seconds before a crash and a few seconds after. The data is saved until it is overwritten or deleted. This is why time is of the essence. If you wait too long to begin an investigation, critical data may be lost forever. A car accident lawyer can help you act fast to secure this evidence, especially in serious cases involving catastrophic injuries or wrongful death.
Are There Any Privacy Concerns with Black Box Data?
Some drivers may wonder whether black box data can be used against them, and the short answer is, potentially, yes. Louisiana law does not require driver consent for black box data to be accessed in civil proceedings if it is deemed relevant evidence.
Your personal injury lawyer can help determine whether black box data can be lawfully obtained and used in your case. If your own vehicle is involved, the process is often easier, but obtaining data from another driver’s car may require court intervention, subpoenas, or expert analysis.
Contact the Louisiana Car Accident Law Firm Of Kenny Habetz Injury Law for Help Today
If you’ve been injured in a car accident, please call Kenny Habetz Injury Law for a free case evaluation with a Louisiana car accident lawyer or contact us online. We have offices in Lafayette and Crowley, LA.
Kenny Habetz Injury Law – Lafayette
110 E Kaliste Saloom Rd Ste 101 Lafayette, LA 70508
(337) 399-9000
Kenny Habetz Injury Law – Crowley
604 S Parkerson Ave. Crowley, LA 70526
(337) 329-8883
