Truck Accident Evidence Checklist

Federal regulations require motor carriers to retain these records and their supporting documents for at least six months from the date of receipt, 49 C.F.R. §§ 395.8(k)(1) and 395.11(c)^[1]. Qualifying supporting documents include dispatch and trip records and certain expense receipts. That window is not indefinite, and it starts running as soon as the carrier receives the record, not from the date of the crash.

The required vehicle-maintenance records generally must be retained for one year and for six months after the vehicle leaves the motor carrier’s control.^[4] A driver vehicle inspection report, when required and prepared, is a separate, shorter-lived record, generally retained for only three months from the date it was prepared, 49 C.F.R. § 396.11^[5]. A written report is not necessarily required on every day of use; under current regulations, a driver generally need not prepare one when no defect or deficiency is discovered or reported, subject to certain vehicle- and carrier-specific exceptions. When one is prepared, it remains one of the shortest retention windows among the record types discussed here.

• The police or crash report, including officer notes and any citations issued
• Photographs of both vehicles, the scene, skid marks, and cargo positioning
• Contact information for any witnesses at the scene
• Your own medical records documenting treatment from the start
• Dashcam or nearby surveillance footage, where available

A spoliation letter is a written notice sent to the carrier and its insurer identifying the specific records at issue, such as driver logs, ECM data, and maintenance files, and formally putting them on notice of a legal obligation to preserve that evidence. It does not compel immediate production of the records, but it can matter later if evidence goes missing after the letter was sent.

When key evidence has already been lost, an accident reconstruction expert can sometimes work backward from the evidence that does exist, including maintenance history, dispatch records, and physical evidence at the scene, to help establish what likely happened.

Timing affects availability more than importance does. Some records, like driver logs, are federally required to be kept for months. Others, like engine data, may lack a fixed federal retention rule and depend heavily on the carrier’s own practices and continued use of the vehicle.

A missing record is not always the end of the story. When evidence has already been lost or overwritten, a Colorado truck accident lawyer can sometimes reconstruct what it likely showed using maintenance history, dispatch records, cargo paperwork, and other documentation the carrier is still required to keep on file.

Formal requests carry more weight than informal ones. A trucking company and its insurer are far more likely to treat a written legal preservation request seriously than a phone call or an email from someone without legal representation, which is part of why early involvement changes how carriers respond.

None of this requires you to become an investigator yourself. Understanding what these records are and why they matter is simply the first step toward evaluating how strong your situation actually is.