Cameras are almost everywhere these days, and it's easier to get evidence as soon as an incident happens. Even a few days or a few weeks after an auto accident, you can continue to gather information that could save your side a costly legal battle. Here are a few information sources and techniques to keep in mind as you track down information about your accident in the digital age.

Retrieving Video From Camera Systems

If your accident was within city limits or near a large business building, there could have been security cameras recording the path to the road. This is especially true near banks, hospitals, police precincts, and other buildings that may need to record escaping criminals or keep an eye on assets as they enter or exit.

Many modern surveillance systems use security cameras that can store information just like a smartphone or other mobile device. This usually means using an SD (secure digital) card or microSD card, although there are a few other standards depending on how old or feature-packed the system may be.

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is another modern option, allowing you to use external storage drives or portable flash drives/thumb drives. Older systems may use CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray discs to save information. If you want to be safe and gather the most likely forms of digital evidence, have a few discs of each type (a USB thumb drive, a microSD card, and a normal SD card) in a kit when visiting areas near your accident.

Requesting Information Online

Social media is a great tool with massive potential, and you can use it to get the attention of people who may have seen your accident.

Use major social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to post pictures of the accident and details of the location. Tagging or categorizing your pictures and posts under the location name will make the content relevant to that area, and people who have been to the area will have a higher chance of seeing the post.

Make the posts public, and consider contacting local news stations to get a boost in viewership. You're not out to become a social media personality—at least not yet—and it's fine to ask for help if you need proof of how an accident happened.

People can then send their own videos and pictures of the accident if they have evidence, either to your post, your email address, or an attorney's email address. Contact a team of auto accident attorneys to discuss other ways to track down relevant information.