Can Cell-Phone Records Prove Distracted Driving?

Carabin Shaw is one of the leading personal injury law firms in Texas. They have extensive experience in accident cases, focusing on securing compensation for clients’ medical bills, property damage, and pain and suffering.

Yes, and they are often the most convincing proof that the other driver caused your crash by looking at a phone instead of the road. Cell phone records can pin down the exact moment a call connected or a text was sent, and when that timestamp lines up with the moment of impact, the excuses fall apart. Our San Antonio car accident lawyers use these records to prove distraction, but obtaining them takes legal process and quick action, because the window to secure them is short.

More here: https://www.carabinshaw.com/auto-accidents.html

Texas Law on Texting and Driving

Texas bans texting while driving statewide. Since September 2017, reading, writing, or sending an electronic message behind the wheel is illegal across the state, and handheld phone use is banned entirely in active school zones. Some Texas cities add their own hands-free rules on top of the state law. These laws matter because a driver who violates them is negligent per se, meaning the violation itself establishes negligence. If cell phone records show the other driver was texting when they hit you, that evidence does much of the work of proving fault.

Distraction Is More Than Just Texting

Distracted driving covers far more than texting. A driver scrolling social media, watching a video, dialing a call, entering an address in a map app, or reaching for a phone that dropped is just as dangerous and just as negligent. Cell phone records and device data can reveal each of these behaviors. Even hands-free use that pulls a driver’s attention off the road can support a claim when it contributed to the crash. We look at the full range of phone activity, not only text messages.

What Cell-Phone Records Actually Show

Carrier records are mostly metadata, not content. The phone company can show the date and time of calls and text messages and the amount of data used, but it usually does not keep the words inside a text. That timing data is still powerful. A text sent at the same second as the crash, or a call still connected at impact, tells a clear story. Data-usage logs can also reveal that an app was active, which points to streaming, scrolling, or navigation use even when no call or text was involved.

Getting the Records: Subpoenas and Preservation

A driver will not simply hand over their phone records, and privacy laws keep carriers from releasing them without legal authority. We obtain these records through a subpoena issued in a lawsuit, which compels the phone company to produce the call and text logs for the time around the crash. Just as important, we send a preservation letter early, demanding that the driver and the carrier keep the records and the device untouched so nothing is deleted before we can review it.

Distracted-driving crashes are just as common for drivers in Austin.

Read more here: https://shawcowart.com/car-accident-lawyer-austin/

The Phone Itself Tells More

Carrier logs are only part of the picture. The phone itself holds far more detail, and a forensic examination of the device can show app activity, screen taps, messages typed through the data network, and use of social media or navigation apps that never appear on a carrier bill. When a case justifies it, we seek access to the actual phone so an expert can recover this activity. That level of detail can turn a suspected distraction into a documented one.

Proving the Driver, Not a Passenger, Was Using It

One common defense is that a passenger, not the driver, was using the phone. We address this with the surrounding evidence. Was anyone else in the car? What do witnesses say about the driver’s head being down? Does the crash pattern show a driver who never braked or steered away, as a distracted driver would not? Combining the phone data with these facts closes the gap and ties the device use to the person behind the wheel.

Pairing Phone Records With Other Evidence

Cell phone records are strongest when they line up with the rest of the proof. A witness who saw the other driver looking down, a dashcam showing a car drifting without reacting, vehicle data showing no braking before impact, and a text timestamped to the same moment together build a case that is very hard to dispute. Our San Antonio auto accident attorneys assemble these pieces so the phone evidence does not stand alone.

Why Timing Matters

Phone records and device data do not last forever. Carriers keep detailed records for a limited time, and a driver can wipe or replace a phone once they sense a claim is coming. The sooner a preservation letter goes out and a subpoena is prepared, the better the chance of capturing the evidence while it still exists. Waiting can mean losing the very proof that would have won the case.

Talk to Our San Antonio Car Accident Lawyers

If you believe a distracted driver caused your crash, the phone records may prove it, but only if someone moves fast to secure them. Our San Antonio car accident attorneys know how to preserve, subpoena, and present cell phone evidence to prove distraction. Call Carabin Shaw at (210) 222-2288 for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we win your case.