Fired for not telling what didnt happen

itsdave92570 submitted 607 days ago

I was a Over The Road (otr) (long distance) truck driver. One night, I stop in a roadside rest area for my 10 hours sleep time. On my On Board Computer (OBC), it shows that i shut the truck off at 6:13. I have my dinner, get some shut eye. Wake up to get back on the road at 3am. Its cold out, so i do my check up early, get my truck warmed up. Doing the walk around, I see a highway patrol car in the space besides me, say good morning and go about my business.
At 4:30 (wanted to be sure i was just over legal, with the patrol besides me), I hit the highway. I am about 3 miles down the road when i get pulled over by that same cop. He starts off asking about that accident i just had. ?!?!?!!?!
Turns out that the guy who was parked in the spot next to mine reported that i hit him without reporting it, thus a technical hit and run when i left the area without reporting anything to the law, and without giving my information to him. I asked what time this supposedly happen? 11:45pm. I showed the officer my OBC which shows that my truck wasnt running anywhere near that time, so how could i have hit anything? This was clearly a guy who damaged his truck and/or trailer and wanted to blame someone for it. The cop politely takes down my name/license and statement, along with the proof that i couldnt have done it. No problem, i understand he is just doing his job, needs to write a report.
I am making my delivery when i get a message on my OBC to call security on a telephone. I do, and am asked why did i leave the scene of an accident? why didnt i report to my company that i was involved in an accident? Seems that the guy I "hit" called them to start collecting on his claim. I explain the circumstances of it to them, they kept insisting that my OBC wasnt proof enough that nothing happen. I got nasty, i will admit, OK, then HOW DO I PROVE NOTHING HAPPEN? I offered to get the officer involved to call, I was told that how would they know that it was really him, not a buddy calling? I was terminated based on my attitude. DUH!
Contacted an attorney. They came back and said that the reason that i was terminated was because i violated the company policy of a 10 hour break from work for either starting the truck early, which required opening the hood of the truck to check it, or by not opening the hood to check it, your call which i did/didnt do. The proof? the OBC (which wasnt proof enough of a non event happening). The upside of this? got a out of court settlement for enough to buy a new Corvette and attorney fees, plus a clear report for good recommendations.