After your truck accident on I-64 in Richmond, you know what you saw. The semi driver ran the red light, but proving fault means more than just your word against the trucking company's version of events.
A Virginia truck accident attorney recognizes that surveillance footage often provides the most powerful evidence in truck crash cases, capturing the collision exactly as it happened without bias or fading memories. Video evidence exists all around us, but this footage won't help your case if it's erased before you can obtain it.
Sources of Surveillance Footage in Virginia Truck Accidents
Multiple cameras may have recorded your Virginia truck accident, each offering different perspectives about what happened.
Traffic and Municipal Cameras
Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) maintains cameras throughout the Commonwealth's highway system to monitor traffic flow on major routes like I-95, I-81, and Route 460. However, VDOT traffic cameras stream video for real-time traffic management only; they do not record or archive footage for later retrieval.
Municipalities install red-light cameras and intersection monitoring systems that do record footage. Richmond is actively expanding its red-light and safety camera network, making this evidence increasingly available. Access to these recordings typically runs through the city or its vendor, not VDOT, and release can be limited by vendor contracts or ongoing enforcement proceedings.
Business Security Systems
If you need highway or intersection video evidence, don't rely on VDOT post-crash. Your Virginia truck accident attorney should immediately canvass nearby private and business cameras.
Retail stores, gas stations, restaurants, and office buildings install security cameras that often face parking lots and streets, inadvertently recording traffic accidents nearby. A Virginia truck accident attorney knows how to identify businesses with cameras positioned to capture accident scenes and send spoliation letters immediately.
Residential and Vehicle Cameras
Homeowners increasingly install doorbell cameras and home security systems that record street activity. Ring doorbells, Nest cameras, and similar systems may have recorded your accident, but identifying which homes have these systems requires immediate investigation.
Under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations, commercial trucking companies must maintain electronic logging devices that track hours of service. The FMCSA's ELD rule does not require video cameras, but many companies integrate camera systems with these devices. ELD data must be retained for six months, providing a useful timeframe for preservation requests.
Witnesses to your truck accident may have dashcams recording their own driving. Tesla vehicles can save crash and near-crash video clips through Dashcam and Sentry Mode features, but only if those features are enabled and proper storage media is installed.
How Virginia Attorneys Preserve Surveillance Footage
The legal process for obtaining surveillance footage requires immediate action and specific legal procedures.
Spoliation Letters
Under Virginia Code § 8.01-379.2:1, courts have the authority to address spoliation of evidence and may allow juries to infer that destroyed evidence would have been unfavorable to the party who destroyed it. A spoliation letter formally notifies potential defendants and third parties of their legal duty to preserve evidence before systems automatically overwrite recordings.
Subpoenas and Court Orders
After filing suit, a Virginia truck accident attorney uses subpoenas to compel the production of surveillance footage. Rule 4:9A subpoenas to non-parties are discovery tools typically available after a lawsuit is filed. Before filing suit, attorneys rely primarily on preservation letters and voluntary agreements.
Freedom of Information Act Requests
Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), government agencies must respond within five working days, with a possible seven-day extension. However, FOIA requests may be denied if disclosure would compromise public safety or interfere with an active investigation.
Not all camera footage qualifies as a public record available via FOIA. Vendor-held enforcement video or footage tied to active investigations may be exempt from disclosure. Some enforcement camera footage is controlled by private vendors or law enforcement agencies with specific release rules that limit access.
Time-Sensitive Nature of Video Evidence
Virginia's two-year statute of limitations gives injury victims time to file a lawsuit, but surveillance footage won't wait two years. It could be gone in 30 days or less.
Most surveillance systems automatically overwrite old footage. Businesses typically retain recordings for 30 to 90 days. Municipal traffic cameras may have retention periods governed by vendor contracts. Private property owners have no legal obligation to preserve or provide footage at all without a subpoena.
The Mottley Law Firm acts immediately when contacted about truck accidents. We identify potential camera sources within hours, send spoliation letters within days, and prepare to file suit promptly when necessary. Our Virginia truck accident attorneys have recovered millions for clients, including $8 million settlements and cases against major trucking companies.