Company tricks driver.

WHY!? because the employee is not the owner. that is a risk that a owner takes. if i wanted all the liability's of owning a truck i would be a O.O.

btw who is the dummy for hiring flaky drivers. pay a better wage and hire a good driver.

 

You know reading it means nothing, you have to understand it and unless you went through a contracts class when in law school and had practical knowledge, reading it doesn't mean a thing. You should have brought it to a lawyer to get it straight, but then you claim they made you drive illegal when they can't and don't have the power to do so.

I would just take the loss, write it off against taxes and move on.

 

So, if I understand the OP correctly, he got the load, took it back to the yard. Did you quit or were fired? Did the company pay for schooling? Something is missing here. If the $5,500 is solely for the damage to the truck, I would tell them to provide me with an itemized bill, from a body shop (and not their inhouse body shop), showing exactly what was damaged, the breakdown of parts, material (paint, etc.) and labor. Then make them sue me for it. Especially after saying insurance isn't an option. I would also have taken pics of the damage, what you hit, etc.., as well as the surrounding area of the damage to the truck.

Anytime I've had a blow out, I take at least 5 to 6 pics of the tire, the underside of the container, the chassis, etc., to cover mine and the companies butts from the railroad or container depot.

My company has a $1,500 deductible, one of my coworkers just did about $7,000 in damage to a truck not paying attention.

He still has a job, the company has turned it over to the insurance, he's been given a choice the door, or the deductible. He'll reimburse the deductible out of his pay.

 

You're welcome.
I forgot to add something. Keep your log books, even if you have falsified ones but don't tell anyone about them except your lawyer. They are a record of your hours worked.
If you have co-workers who do/did the same thing (meaning forced to drive illegal hours), let the attorney know that also.

Mis-classifying employees as "independent contractors" and not paying overtime appears to be common. This happened to two buddies. After legal fees, one got $900, and the other got $4200.

About some of the other posts:
First, I am amazed at some of the comments, especially those critical of you. In the first two sentences of your original post, you admitted your error and took responsibility. You didn't "slither away" as one driver wrote.
Second, those who tell you to forget about it or to suck it up surprise me. If a broker shafted you out of $500, would they say the same thing? If a DOT officer arbitrarily gave you a $500 ticket, would they say too bad?

 

no way in hell, that is the risk a owner takes. bigger rewards bigger risk. tell me any other industry where the employee has to pay for repairs. it is also illegal to take money out of a employees check unless they sign off on it. as to forgiving the driver that is your choice, fire him or take another chance that it was a one time deal.
you mention a driver can bankrupt a company and yes it can happen, but as the owner when you screw up and make bad business decisions and bankrupt the company should you have to keep givng them a check and benefits until they find another job?

 

Accidents happen, hence insurance....If owner didnt want to file claim, then it would be a "pay or be fired thing"...In which case maybe you could split the bill

But no, stuff has to get all conviluted and legalic and fraud based...

I agree with the fellas saying that the "they made me run illegal" thing is moot...almost like, "they made me run 5 miles an hour more than posted limit"..."they made me run with bald tires"...
Them illegal logs will make a prosecutor/hearing officers job real easy...Heck, it'll probably be recorded online somewhere for next employers to find!!! Id trash em, keep er quiet

 

I'm a pretty decent driver. Put that policy in front of me and I'll kindly not take it. A policy like that screams cheap. It also has a high probability of being abused. So while you aren't wrong because it's your opinion, I'll never drive for you.