Six months. That is how long many trucking companies must keep hours-of-service records and ELD data under FMCSA rules before they can be deleted in the normal course. If you wait, that evidence can disappear.

Picture this: a family from Lee's Summit gets hit on I-470 in July after a tractor-trailer blows a tire in the heat. Two days later, the insurance adjuster calls, speaks fast, emails forms in English, and says signing will "get the claim moving." Meanwhile, nobody has told the carrier to preserve the truck's ELD records, dash cam, engine control module data, driver logs, maintenance files, tire records, dispatch messages, and load papers.

The smart move is demand preservation first, sign nothing first.

That is the raw truth. Adjusters ask for broad medical releases and statements early because those help them, not you. The truck's electronic data can show speed, braking, driving hours, rest breaks, and route history. Maintenance records can show the blowout was no fluke. Broker-carrier paperwork can show the company on the trailer is not the only company involved.

General rules in Missouri:

• Missouri is an at-fault state, and regular car minimums are only 25/50/25. Commercial carriers often carry far more, and federal minimums can be $750,000 or higher, with some hazardous loads requiring much more.
• Send a written preservation demand fast to the driver, motor carrier, broker, and insurer. Not just one of them.
• Get the crash report from the Lee's Summit Police Department or Missouri State Highway Patrol if they responded.
• Do not give a recorded statement just because the adjuster pressures you.
• Do not assume the broker is off the hook or that only the driver matters.

If the company destroys evidence after being told to preserve it, that can become a serious problem for them. The people who move fastest after a truck crash usually keep the proof.