I’m going on a road trip soon and we’ve booked a couple hotels, but can’t afford one for every night.
Is it legal to sleep in the car in a secluded or quiet area like a lay-by or on a back road?
We frequently camp so we are used to sleeping rough, though I am concerned about the legality of this.
Where I’m from in Scotland, we have right of way and are allowed to do this, and we usually do without second thought, but the laws are different in england so I thought I’d check first.
(Edit: why does everyone assume I’m going to be drunk lol)
13 comments
As long as you aren’t on private land or parking on a restriction (like double yellows) it’s fine
Lay-bys where trucks overnight are often fine
Be sober… being over the limit puts you in a grey area legally and if for any reason you are asked to move on (or want to) you don’t want to be over the limit
Back seats down. Sleeping bag and pillow. I’ve got black glass at the back and I clip a cloth divider between the front and the back.
Ive done this quite a few times driving around Europe. Its best by the beach because you can swim and shower in the morning. Big city centres are challenging and sometimes a little scary.
I don’t care about the law so much because I’m as stealthy as possible and what’s the worse they can do. Move me on? As the other answer said I don’t drink much if I think there is any chance of that. But it’s never happened.
Just make sure you’re not on private property and sober.
If you’re over the limit (or even just tipsy) you might find yourself catching a “drunk in charge” charge. You don’t have to be sitting in the driver’s seat, and you don’t need to have the keys in the ignition for you to be considered “in charge” of the vehicle.
Police do occasionally go around searching vehicles that appear to be abandoned, waking up people sleeping in them in the process, so there’s a very small chance you get woken up by some curious coppers.
But there’s no law specifically against sleeping in your vehicle.
I did this once. Got woken up by the police cos unbeknownst to me the nice secluded countryside car park I’d picked was popular with some folk who liked to indulge in the sort of alfresco hanky panky that includes having some friends on hand for moral support 🙂 I shifted to a quiet residential street after that!
As long as you are sober, the police won’t care. Even if you accidentally park up and kip where you shouldn’t, they just move you on. It happens in picturesque seaside locations all the time. Scotland has wild camping rights, which England doesn’t have. So you are probably more restricted on where you camp, as opposed to where you park up and sleep.
Oh and always use the reason, you were exhausted and it felt unsafe to drive, so had to pull over and kip asap.
It’s not illegal to sleep in a vehicle on a public highway so long as you are legally parked, not causing an obstruction. Drunk in charge of a motor vehicle is different from drunk driving in that there is a defence that you had no intention to drive while intoxicated. Proving that in court though would be difficult. Examples would include being in bed, in a camper van and just over the limit. Where the keys are makes zero difference.
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It’s a reasonably regular occurrence for me, might have a job at the other end of the country. So I have a pillow and blanket on my passenger seat all the time as one can’t always be bothering with a hotel for just a few hours kip before the drive back. Never had a problem or been bothered by anyone, just pick a quiet spot out the way or pay for parking somewhere.
Here’s an idea . Find pubs with large beer gardens and ask if you can camp there in a small tent overnight if you have a meal and drinks . Has worked for me a few times. You have to eat and it will be way cheaper than a hotel or even b and b. Advance planning is advisable. Lay bys aren’t very nice at night .
Check out the app park4night it shows you places you can park up overnight that are often used by campervans and people towing caravans who need a relatively safe place to park up.
I sleep in my car all the time when I got out at the weekend. Usually just park up in a layby somewhere. Only problem I’ve ever had is when I accidently parked in the local dogging spot overnight.
Just to add to the advice here (fine to sleep in your car) – put the keys somewhere hard to get to (even just in the glovebox). It may help, if needed, show you have no intention of driving the vehicle.
Crack the windows, doesn’t matter how cold it is outside make sure there cracked, because condensation will build up and then it’ll be obvious what’s going on. Also in a car you’ll run out of oxygen and it’ll get filled with moisture in the air which just isn’t good because then you’ll be colder.