At 55 miles per hour, a truck covers about 80 feet every second. A driver who looks down for five seconds travels roughly 400 feet without watching the road. In a tractor-trailer, those seconds matter more than in any other vehicle, because the truck needs so much more distance to stop or steer around a hazard. Distraction crashes tend to look alike: the truck rear-ends traffic that had been slowing for some time, drifts out of its lane, or runs a red light, with little or no braking before impact.
Distraction in a truck cab is not limited to personal phones. Many carriers equip trucks with dispatch tablets and messaging units that send load and route updates all day, and drivers use navigation units and load-finding apps. Federal regulations draw the line between allowed and prohibited uses.
When a truck driver was distracted, the proof usually exists in several places at once: the driver's phone, the carrier's messaging system, the truck's cameras, and the truck's engine data. Each record has a timestamp. Matched together, they can show what the driver was doing second by second.
1. Get medical care and note what you saw in the cab
Get medical attention right away. Florida PIP medical benefits generally require initial care "within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident" (§ 627.736(1)(a), Fla. Stat.). Then write down anything you or a witness saw: a driver looking down, a phone in the driver's hand or on the dash, a tablet lit up, or a driver on a call. Note whether the truck braked or swerved before impact. Witnesses who drove alongside the truck before the crash are especially valuable, so get their names and numbers.
“within 14 days after the motor vehicle accident”
§ 627.736(1)(a)
2. Know what the federal rules prohibit
Federal rules are direct. "No driver shall engage in texting while driving" (49 CFR 392.80(a)), and "No driver shall use a hand-held mobile telephone while driving a CMV" (49 CFR 392.82(a)(1)). The rules apply to the carrier too: "No motor carrier shall allow or require its drivers to engage in texting while driving" (49 CFR 392.80(b)), and no motor carrier may allow or require its drivers to use a hand-held phone while driving (49 CFR 392.82(a)(2)).
The definitions are broad. Texting means "manually entering alphanumeric text into, or reading text from, an electronic device," including email, instant messaging, and accessing a web page. Using a hand-held phone includes holding a phone for a call, "Dialing or answering a mobile telephone by pressing more than a single button," and reaching for a phone in a way that takes the driver out of a seated, belted driving position (49 CFR 390.5T). The rules exclude some activity, such as using a navigation system, and "driving" includes being stopped temporarily in traffic (49 CFR 392.82(b)).
“No driver shall engage in texting while driving”
49 CFR 392.80(a)
“manually entering alphanumeric text into, or reading text from, an electronic device,”
49 CFR 390.5
3. Send a preservation letter covering every device
A preservation letter to the motor carrier should demand that it save:
- Fleet management and dispatch messages to and from the driver, which are also supporting documents under the hours of service rules (49 CFR 395.11(c)(1)).
- Driver-facing and forward-facing camera footage, including any distraction or "eyes off road" alerts.
- Engine control module data showing speed, braking, and lane-departure or collision warnings.
- Electronic logging device (ELD) records for the trip (49 CFR 395.8).
- Company-issued phones and tablets, and the carrier's records of their use.
- The carrier's policies and training on phone use and in-cab messaging.
- The driver's qualification file (49 CFR 391.51).
A separate letter should go to the driver asking that he or she keep the personal phone and its contents intact. Cell carrier records, which show call and message times, can be obtained in litigation.
“eyes off road”
49 CFR 395.11(c)(1)
4. Match the timestamps
Distraction is proven by timing. If the engine data shows the truck traveling at a steady speed with no braking until the moment of impact, and the phone or dispatch records show a message sent or read in the same window, the connection is plain. Camera footage often shows exactly where the driver's eyes were. We line up each record on a single timeline so a jury can see it.
5. Look at what the carrier required
Some carriers send messages that demand a reply while the truck is moving, or pay and discipline drivers based on how quickly they respond. A carrier that does that may be violating its own federal duty not to allow or require texting while driving, along with its duty to require drivers to obey the safety rules (49 CFR 390.11). Some fleet systems can limit messaging while a truck is moving, and whether the carrier used that feature is a fair question in discovery.
Florida rules that matter
Deadline. For negligence claims arising after March 24, 2023, Florida generally allows two years to file suit (§ 95.11(5)(a), Fla. Stat.), and a wrongful death action also has two years (§ 95.11(5)(e)). Camera footage and messaging data can be lost far sooner.
Fault. Expect the trucking company to argue that you contributed to the crash. Florida reduces damages by a claimant's share of fault and bars recovery for a person found "greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm" (§ 768.81(6), Fla. Stat.). Each defendant pays according to its own percentage of fault (§ 768.81(3)).
Federal rules apply in Florida. Florida applies the federal safety regulations to interstate carriers and, with listed exceptions, to trucks operating only within the state (§ 316.302(1), Fla. Stat.).
Punitive damages. In some cases the evidence may support a request to add punitive damages. Florida does not permit that claim unless there is "a reasonable showing by evidence in the record" or proffered by the claimant (§ 768.72(1), Fla. Stat.), and an employer's liability for an employee's conduct is limited to the circumstances in § 768.72(3).
Insurance. Interstate for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 in public liability coverage (49 CFR 387.9). Trucks operating only within Florida must carry $50,000 to $300,000 per occurrence depending on weight (§ 627.7415, Fla. Stat.).
“greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm”
§ 768.81(6)
“a reasonable showing by evidence in the record”
§ 768.72(1)
Your checklist
- Get medical care within 14 days.
- Write down what you saw in the cab and whether the truck braked.
- Get the names and numbers of witnesses who saw the driver.
- Have a preservation letter sent for camera, messaging, and device records.
- Ask that the driver's personal phone be preserved.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking insurer.
- Talk with a trial lawyer well before the two-year deadline.
How we handle these cases
We build distraction cases from timestamps: the driver's phone, the carrier's messaging system, the cameras, and the engine data, lined up second by second. We then look at what the carrier allowed or required, because a company that expects drivers to answer messages on the move may share responsibility for the result. We represent injured people throughout Florida, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville. Meetings are by appointment only. Call 305-748-3789 to talk with us.
This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.