How to Preserve Traffic Camera Footage After a Michigan Crash

How Can You Preserve Camera Footage After a Michigan Crash?

Act promptly to identify who controls each possible camera and the narrow time window around your Michigan crash. Not every camera records or keeps video, and asking for a copy does not necessarily stop the footage from being overwritten.

Which Cameras May Have Recorded the Crash?

Start with video already available to you. A dashcam or connected vehicle system may contain a recording that you can preserve without waiting for another person or company. The same is true of video captured on a phone or helmet camera.

Other footage may belong to a witness or nearby property owner. Homes, apartment buildings, gas stations, parking lots, and other businesses may have cameras facing part of the road.

Public traffic cameras work differently. A Michigan Department of Transportation report describing MDOT's camera policy says video and images generally are not recorded unless an exception applies. Another agency or private owner may use a different system. A visible camera therefore does not prove that a recording exists.

A commercial vehicle may also have onboard or fleet video. Commercial trucks, buses, and delivery vehicles can hold other company records. The broader guide to Michigan truck accident evidence preservation explains what else may matter.

What Details Help Identify the Correct Video?

Safety, emergency help, and medical care come first. Observe cameras only from a place where you can remain safe and lawfully present. Once you are safe, these steps can help identify the right holder and clip:

1. Preserve your recording. Export the original before a device records over it. Keep that file unchanged and make a separate copy for ordinary viewing.
2. Record the crash window. Write down the best-known crash time and exact location. Add the lane and travel direction.
3. Identify the holder. Record the business or property name. Note the camera's mounting place and viewing direction.
4. Keep existing identifiers. Save the police incident number and witness contacts. Keep relevant insurer messages and the holder's contact information.

A focused description is more useful than a broad request for all video from an entire day.

Is Preserving Footage the Same as Getting a Copy?

No. A preservation request asks a holder not to destroy or overwrite relevant material. A records request seeks access to a record that already exists.

Michigan's Freedom of Information Act applies to public bodies. A requested record must already exist within a public body's official work. The governing terms appear in MCL 15.232.

A person may use the written request process in MCL 15.233 to seek a sufficiently described existing record, subject to exemptions and agency procedures. That process does not govern a private business's camera system. A records request also should not be treated as a preservation notice.

A private holder may provide footage voluntarily, but an informal request may not secure a copy. When formal production becomes available, Michigan Court Rule 2.305 provides a process for seeking records from a nonparty. The correct method depends on the holder and case status. This is attorney work, not a task the injured person should manage alone.

There is no single verified retention period for every Michigan traffic, business, residence, dashcam, or fleet camera. The holder's system and policy control whether video was recorded and how long it remains available.

Why Should the Original Video Stay Unchanged?

Keep the original file in its original format when possible. Preserve the filename, source, date received, and any message that came with it. Use a copy if you need to crop, annotate, compress, or share the video.

Michigan Rule of Evidence 901 requires enough evidence to support a finding that an item is what its proponent claims it is. Keeping the original and its source information does not guarantee that a court will admit the video, but it avoids creating unnecessary questions about what changed.

Does Video Matter in a Michigan No-Fault Case?

Yes. Qualifying personal protection insurance (PIP) benefits are due without regard to fault under MCL 500.3105. That does not make video irrelevant to every part of a crash case.

A separate third-party bodily injury claim may exist under Michigan's motor-vehicle liability rules in MCL 500.3135. Video may help evaluate the crash sequence, involved vehicles, and driver conduct. It can also help identify a vehicle that left the scene. The footage does not decide liability by itself, and missing video does not end a claim.

How Can Michigan Legal Center Preserve Outside Video?

Michigan Legal Center can identify likely public and private camera holders, send focused preservation notices, and request existing records through the appropriate process. Our attorneys can also preserve source information and compare the video with other crash evidence.

The firm's Michigan car accident attorneys can review how the footage fits the broader claim without asking you to manage outside evidence or legal process alone.

Contact Michigan Legal Center promptly if a traffic, business, residence, dashcam, or vehicle camera may have recorded your crash.