The Most Important Evidence in a Trucking Case — and Why It Disappears Fast

In trucking cases, evidence disappears faster than in any other area of personal injury law.

Trucking companies have every incentive to delete:

  • Dashcam video
  • Driver logs
  • GPS data
  • Safety alerts
  • Dispatch communications

Because these records often prove:

👉 Fatigue
👉 Hours-of-service violations
👉 Logbook fraud
👉 Short-haul abuse
👉 Corporate negligence
👉 Pressure from management
👉 Systemic safety failures

This is called spoliation, and it can dramatically increase the value of a trucking case — especially when tied to fatigue-based punitive damages.

 

 

1️⃣ What Is Spoliation?

Spoliation occurs when a trucking company:

  • Destroys evidence
  • Alters evidence
  • Fails to preserve evidence
  • Forges or “reconstructs” logs
  • Overwrites dashcam footage
  • Edits GPS data
  • Loses driver qualification files

California courts punish this heavily.

 

 

2️⃣ Why Trucking Companies Destroy Evidence

Because the evidence usually proves:

  • The driver was fatigued
  • HOS limits were violated
  • The driver exceeded 14 hours
  • The company misused the short-haul exception
  • Logs were falsified
  • The truck was poorly maintained
  • The driver shouldn’t have been on the road
  • Corporate pressure caused unsafe behavior

Destroying evidence is often an attempt to avoid massive liability.

 

 

3️⃣ Evidence That Disappears First

A. Dashcam Footage

Often overwritten in 3–7 days unless preserved.

B. Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Data

Can be erased or altered if not locked.

C. Time Records for Short-Haul Drivers

Companies often fail to keep accurate daily hours — making the short-haul exemption invalid.

D. GPS & Engine Control Module (ECM) Data

Shows actual miles and movement.

E. Dispatch Messages & Safety Alerts

Reveals pressure to drive tired or skip breaks.

F. Driver Qualification & Medical Records

May show sleep apnea, sedating meds, or prior violations.

 

 

4️⃣ The Short-Haul Exception & How It Leads to Log Destruction

A major source of spoliation is misuse of the Short-Haul Exception, which companies exploit to:

  • Avoid keeping full logs
  • Avoid ELD monitoring
  • Hide fatigue-causing hours
  • Mask illegal overtime
  • Exceed 150 air miles without documentation
  • Overwork drivers
  • Avoid producing logs after a collision

If a driver’s route exceeded 150 air miles, logs were required.
If the driver exceeded 14 hours, logs were required.
If time records are missing → violation.

Many companies destroy logs because they know these violations occurred.

This is spoliation — and supports punitive damages.

 

 

5️⃣ How Lawyers Catch Spoliation

A skilled trucking lawyer cross-checks:

  • GPS data vs. logs
  • Fuel receipts vs. claimed breaks
  • Toll records vs. claimed routes
  • Safety alerts vs. company actions
  • Delivery times vs. HOS compliance
  • Timecards vs. short-haul criteria
  • Dashcam time stamps vs. driver statements

When records contradict each other → the logs are fake or destroyed.

 

 

6️⃣ Penalties for Spoliation in California

Courts may grant:

✔ Negative inference instructions

Jury may assume destroyed evidence was harmful.

✔ Evidentiary sanctions

Certain defenses barred.

✔ Issue sanctions

Court may find the company violated safety laws as a matter of law.

✔ Monetary sanctions

Fines for bad-faith destruction.

✔ Punitive damage support

Spoliation is evidence of conscious disregard.

 

 

7️⃣ Why You Must Act Fast in a Trucking Case

Dashcams, GPS data, logs, and alerts may be gone in:

  • 3 days
  • 7 days
  • 14 days
  • 30 days
  • 90 days

depending on the system.

This is why one of the first things we do is send a federal spoliation and preservation notice forcing the company to preserve:

  • Dashcam footage
  • Logs
  • Time records
  • Safety alerts
  • Dispatch communications
  • GPS and ECM data
  • Medical qualification files
  • Maintenance records

Delay = destroyed evidence.

 

 

📞 If You Suspect a Trucking Company Is Hiding Evidence — Call Us Immediately

We act fast to secure:

  • Logs
  • GPS
  • Safety alerts
  • Dashcam
  • Time records (short-haul)
  • Dispatch emails
  • ECM downloads

Before they disappear.

Rulsky Law Group — Jerry Gets Justice
 California Trucking Litigation & Punitive Damages Firm

📱 Call 888-670-5530
 💬 Free Consultation — No Fees Unless We Win
🌍 Serving all California