When you get hurt in a car accident that another driver caused in Georgia, you may pursue compensation for your injuries and losses through a personal injury claim. Your case will need various kinds of evidence to prove the other driver’s fault for the accident. Traffic camera footage of the crash or video from the accident scene can provide persuasive evidence to support your accident claim.
However, before you can recover videos, you will need to identify who owns and controls the camera, determine whether it was recording at the time, and submit requests to preserve and obtain copies through the appropriate channels. You might also obtain recordings of the crash and its aftermath from private parties who may have recorded video on dash cameras, cell phones, and surveillance or security cameras.
Do Georgia Traffic Cameras Record Accidents?
Most GDOT highway cameras do not record accidents. Many traffic cameras installed in Georgia record road activity and may capture a crash on a public road. However, not every official traffic camera records footage. Some cameras provide only live footage to traffic or law enforcement officials and do not record video.
Some government cameras do record. But agencies often delete the video within days or weeks unless someone files a request to preserve the recording for an investigation or legal action.
What Types of Cameras May Have Recorded a Georgia Accident?
Different cameras may record a motor vehicle accident and its aftermath. Potential sources of footage for a car accident claim include:
- Georgia Department of Transportation cameras, which typically cover interstates and major U.S. and state highways
- Local department of transportation or law enforcement departments, which may cover major local intersections and streets
- Pole-mounted security cameras operated by local law enforcement agencies
- Police cruiser dashcams
- Police officer bodycams
- Surveillance and security cameras attached to the outside of private businesses and residences
- Private vehicle dashcams
- Bystander cell phones
How to Identify Who Owns the Camera That Recorded the Accident
After locating cameras that may have captured a collision, a crash victim must identify the government agency or private party that owns the camera to request copies of the video evidence.
Traffic cameras located on signals or streetlights usually fall under the control of government agencies like the Georgia Department of Transportation, local traffic departments, or local law enforcement agencies.
Security cameras attached to government buildings typically fall within the control of the agency that operates the building. A local traffic department or law enforcement agency can help an individual determine which state or local agency owns an official traffic or security camera.
For surveillance or security cameras attached to private property, an accident victim can identify the business through signage or advertising on the building, or identify the property owner by searching property tax databases or property deeds.
These Are the Steps to Obtain Traffic Camera or Accident Footage in Georgia
A crash victim who wants traffic or accident scene footage for their car accident claim should act quickly to preserve and recover the video before the government agencies, private businesses, or individuals delete or lose it. Best practices for obtaining traffic camera or accident footage after a crash include:
- Document the accident scene right after the crash, or return soon after to identify any cameras in the area, including cameras on traffic signals, poles, or nearby buildings.
- Obtain a copy of the police crash report, which may identify recordings of the accident.
- Submit appropriate public records requests to the state or local government agencies that operated the cameras at the accident scene for videos from those cameras, as well as from dashcams and bodycams of officers who responded to the crash.
- Contact business and property owners with surveillance or security cameras pointed at the accident scene to ask them to preserve any recordings of the crash.
- Contact any bystanders who may have recorded the accident or its aftermath on their vehicle’s dashcam or their cell phone.
- Consult a car accident attorney at Sherrod & Bernard, P.C., as soon as possible to help track down and secure copies of video of a crash or accident scene. Our attorneys can follow up with public records requests and correspondence with private parties who have recordings, including by serving a subpoena or pursuing other legal action if necessary.
Can EPORTS Be Used to Obtain Accident Video?
Yes. In Georgia, an injured car accident victim may use the Efficient Purchase of Records Transfer System (EPORTS) to obtain videos relating to a crash. The Georgia Department of Public Safety operates EPORTS, which allows the public to request various records and documents from state law enforcement agencies overseen by DPS.
When state law enforcement officers investigate a motor vehicle accident, they may create various records such as crash reports, traffic citations, and dashcam or bodycam footage.
As a result, EPORTS may be able to obtain video from dashcams or bodycams if officers activated them when responding to a motor vehicle accident. However, EPORTS covers only state law enforcement agencies and cannot provide accident scene video recorded by local law enforcement officers.
How Long Is Traffic or Surveillance Footage Kept?
When government agencies or private parties have traffic camera footage or surveillance video that captures activity on the road, they may keep the recordings for a limited period before deleting them pursuant to their records-retention policy.
Government agencies and businesses may have different records policies that delete videos after several days or several weeks. Computer systems that store recordings may automatically delete them after the required period under the record-retention policy.
A government agency or private business must receive a preservation request within that timeframe before it can preserve recorded footage after the normal deletion date.
How Can Video Help Prove a Georgia Car Accident Claim?
Traffic camera video footage and recordings from other kinds of video cameras can provide critical evidence for a Georgia personal injury case by showing what happened in a crash, including examples such as:
- Videos that show a driver violating a traffic law, such as running a red light or turning without signaling
- Video of a collision that backs up a party’s description of the accident
- Video from an accident scene that provides useful details that accident reconstruction experts can use to develop their reports, including damage to the vehicles involved, skid marks on the road, the positions of traffic signals, and road, weather, and lighting conditions
What Should You Do Immediately After the Accident?
Some steps you should take after a car accident to preserve critical video evidence and protect your legal options to seek compensation for injuries include:
- Report the accident to law enforcement and obtain a copy of the police crash report.
- Seek immediate medical attention, follow your doctor’s treatment recommendations, and obtain medical records for your treatment and rehab.
- Make multiple copies of any dashcam or cell phone camera footage you have from the accident and store them in multiple locations.
- Contact state or local government agencies or private property owners who may have traffic or surveillance camera footage of the accident, and request it.
- Notify your insurance company of the accident.
- Contact Sherrod & Bernard, P.C., as soon as possible for a free case review to discuss your situation with a car accident attorney and learn more about the importance of surveillance videos for a car accident case.
Our law firm has a proven record in motor vehicle accident cases, with notable results including a $5.25 million judgment for a client who sustained traumatic brain injuries in a car crash caused by a drunk driver and a $1.68 million recovery for an older couple permanently disabled by a distracted teen driver who ran a red light. Although our past results do not guarantee a specific outcome for your case, our record highlights the tenacious legal advocacy we bring to every matter.
As a past client wrote about her experience having our firm represent her in a car accident claim:
“I hired Ken Bernard for my accident case. A family member told me to contact him since I was hit in the rear by another vehicle. Ken helped me get my medicals paid for and I received a very generous settlement. My family uses Sherrod & Bernard, P.C., because they get the job done. Thank you, Ken.” – Deborah M., Scottsdale, Ga.
Contact us now for a free consultation with an experienced car accident lawyer at Sherrod & Bernard, P.C.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I admit traffic camera footage in a car accident lawsuit?
Under Georgia’s rules of evidence, a party may admit traffic camera footage into evidence in a motor vehicle accident lawsuit if they can establish the relevance and authenticity of the recording. Relevance means that the video can help the court resolve a a key fact in dispute in the case. Authenticity means that footage comes from the source that the party offering it claims that it does, that it depicts what the offering party claims that it does, and that no one has altered the video in any way or has disclosed any alterations.
What other sources of accident footage could I seek?
In addition to traffic camera recordings kept by state and local government agencies, a car accident victim may have other sources of videos they could review for evidence for their injury claim, including:
- Police dashcam or bodycam footage
- Other drivers’ dashcam videos
- Bystanders’ cell phone camera videos
- Private surveillance or security camera recordings
Contact a Georgia Car Accident Lawyer
Obtaining footage of a crash that injured you can provide you with crucial evidence for your injury case. Securing it on your own could quickly become a challenge, but a Georgia car accident lawyer can help you request the recordings or subpoena them if necessary. Contact Sherrod & Bernard, P.C. today for a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced car accident attorney near you.
