The Gap Between Your Deadline and Their Schedule
An injured person in Florida generally has two years to file a negligence claim for a crash on or after March 24, 2023 (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a)). A motor carrier's obligation to retain the records that would prove what its driver and its equipment were doing is, in several important categories, considerably shorter than that. Nothing improper is happening when those records are destroyed on schedule — that is what the schedule is for. It just means the practical evidence deadline in a truck case arrives long before the legal one.
The Retention Schedule, Record by Record
These are the federal minimums. A carrier may keep records longer, and many do, but nothing requires it to.
| Record | Federal Minimum Retention |
|---|---|
| Records of duty status and supporting documents | Six months from the date of receipt — 49 CFR § 395.8(k)(1). This covers the driver's logs and the documents that verify them. |
| ELD data | The carrier retains ELD records and a backup copy for six months — 49 CFR § 395.22(f)(1) and § 395.22(h). |
| Driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) | Three months from the date the report was prepared — 49 CFR § 396.11(a)(3)(ii). |
| Vehicle maintenance and repair records | One year while the vehicle is controlled by the carrier, and six months after it leaves — 49 CFR § 396.3(c). |
| Annual inspection reports | Fourteen months from the report date — 49 CFR § 396.21(b)(1). |
| Accident register | Three years after the date of each accident — 49 CFR § 390.15(b)(2). |
| Driver qualification file | For the duration of employment and three years afterward — 49 CFR § 391.51(d). |
| Drug and alcohol testing records | Varies by record type under 49 CFR § 382.401 — positive results and refusals are kept five years, negative results one year. |
The Two Deadlines That Expire in Hours
Two clocks in a truck case are measured in hours rather than months, and both run before anyone has hired a lawyer.
Under 49 CFR § 382.303, a carrier must conduct post-accident alcohol testing within eight hours and controlled substances testing within 32 hours, in the circumstances the rule specifies — broadly, where there is a fatality, or where the driver is cited and someone is treated away from the scene or a vehicle is towed. If the carrier does not test within those windows, the rule requires it to prepare and keep a record stating why. That record itself becomes evidence.
The second is physical. Skid marks, gouge patterns, cargo debris, and yaw marks are gone within days of a Florida rainstorm, and the vehicles themselves are typically released to a salvage yard on the towing company's schedule, not the claim's. The truck's engine control module and event data recorder ride out with the vehicle. Our guide to black box and e-log evidence covers what those units record and how the data is pulled.
What a Preservation Letter Actually Does
A spoliation or litigation-hold letter is a written notice to the carrier, its insurer, and any other party in possession of evidence that identifies specific records and demands that they be preserved because litigation is reasonably anticipated. It does not extend the federal retention rules. What it does is change the character of destruction after the letter arrives: routine destruction on a schedule is one thing; destruction of specifically identified evidence after notice is another, and Florida courts have remedies for it that can include adverse inference instructions and sanctions.
An effective letter names the records rather than gesturing at them:
- The ECM/EDR data from the tractor, with a demand that the unit not be reset, repaired, or the vehicle released from storage before a mutual download.
- ELD records and RODS for a defined period before the crash — typically 30 days, not just the day of.
- Dispatch records, load tenders, bills of lading, trip envelopes, fuel receipts, and toll records for the same period.
- DVIRs, maintenance and repair invoices, and annual inspection reports for the tractor and the trailer, identified by unit number.
- The driver qualification file, training records, and prior discipline.
- Post-accident testing records under 49 CFR § 382.303, or the documented explanation of why no test occurred.
- Telematics, dashcam, and ADAS event footage — often on the shortest overwrite cycle of anything on the list.
- The trailer's cargo securement documentation where a load shift or spill is involved.
What to Do in the First Two Weeks
- Get the DOT number and the carrier's legal name. It is on the door of the tractor and on the crash report. Everything else keys off it.
- Begin medical treatment within 14 days. Florida PIP benefits under Fla. Stat. § 627.736 generally require it, independent of anything to do with the carrier.
- Find out where the vehicles are stored and get a written hold in place before the tractor is repaired or released to salvage.
- Send the preservation letter to the carrier, the insurer, and the storage facility, listing records specifically.
- Request the crash report and note the 60-day confidentiality period under Fla. Stat. § 316.066.
- Photograph the scene and the vehicles before either changes, including the underride guard, tires, and any cargo securement hardware.
- Pull the carrier's public safety record from FMCSA's systems while the inspection history is current.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a trucking company have to keep driver logs?
Can a trucking company legally destroy evidence after a crash?
What is a spoliation letter?
Is post-accident drug testing required after every truck crash?
Shiner Law Group, P.A.
Founded by David I. Shiner, Esq. · AV Preeminent® rated · Florida Bar member since 2002
Shiner Law Group was founded by David I. Shiner, Esq., a Nova Southeastern University law graduate, a member of The Florida Bar since 2002, and AV Preeminent® rated by Martindale-Hubbell. The firm represents injured people across Florida from offices in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Orlando, Wellington, and Belle Glade, and handles truck accident cases on contingency: free consultations, and no fee unless there is a recovery.
Records Disappear on a Schedule. Act Before They Do.
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