Sleeping In A Car In The UK

[Bisque]

Sorry if this has been discussed before (I know it has in the Glastonbury forum for overnighting on the Tuesday) but I am still unclear on what the rules & regs are of sleeping in your car in the UK, whether it be on a private road or paid parking elsewhere.

I'm due a new car mid Summer & thought about getting something like an S-Max or Mondeo estate with privacy glass where all the seats fold flat as I will be doing extensive driving due to new job & throwing in a foam mattress for kips & visiting mates who I won't get to see often without imposing myself too much.

Silly idea?

[grumpyhack]

I've got this foggy memory that there is something about being drunk in charge of a car. So even if you are asleep (but over the limit) you might get done if the keys are still in the ignition. Make sure you remove them and put them in the glove box. That could be an urban myth but someone might know better.

[Bisque]

I've read up on the "drunk in charge of a car" thing, are motor homists exempt from this?

I've kipped in the back of my old Fiesta a few times when having to catch early flights but wasn't pleasant at all.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

According to this article (dated 2010 though) there's no specific law against sleeping in your own car;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/philipjohnston/7983665/Since-when-was-it-a-crime-to-sleep-in-a-car.html

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Just to add - truckers are allowed to sleep in their lorries in lay byes overnight. Surely the same could be said for people in cars. Also, watch out for sleeping at service stations on the motorway etc - if you go over their free time allowance and drive off without paying the subsequent fee, then they send you an inflated fee as a fee to be paid. You don't have to pay these bills, but getting out of not paying is another story. I've done it successfully though, Once I had toyed with them and their debt collection agency for long enough (and cost them a fair bit of money in administration) I dealt them the killer blow. I told them that the driver was an American friend and that they should contact them for re-imbursement. The result of this was that no further action was taken.

[Bisque]

Clever thinking Yog. As an ex rep I was always careful of reading T&C's of supermarket & high rise car parks but even when I was within the restrictions I was occasionally sent the odd fine.

[eFestivals]

I've read up on the "drunk in charge of a car" thing, are motor homists exempt from this?

Nope.

There's a crime that is being drunk when in charge of the vehicle, which only requires an over-the-limit person to be with the vehicle and its keys.

At the end of the day whether you'd get nicked or not would be down to the discretion of the copper, and i'd guess how he'd view it would be dependent on the exact circumstances at the moment he came into contact with you.

If you always took the trouble to hide the keys well then it's difficult for the copper to have a basis to nick you, but there's always likely to be a moment when you'd be both drunk and with the keys (when you return to the vehicle), so you'd need to be careful.

Edited December 29, 2014 by eFestivals

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

This may be of some benefit;

http://www.ukmotorhomes.net/uk-motorhome-stopovers.shtml

[Comfy Bean]

Nope.

There's a crime that is being drunk when in charge of the vehicle, which only requires an over-the-limit person to be with the vehicle and its keys.

At the end of the day whether you'd get nicked or not would be down to the discretion of the copper, and i'd guess how he'd view it would be dependent on the exact circumstances at the moment he came into contact with you.

If you always took the trouble to hide the keys well then it's difficult for the copper to have a basis to nick you, but there's always likely to be a moment when you'd be both drunk and with the keys (when you return to the vehicle), so you'd need to be careful.

Ain`t an expert but this is how I understand it. When the weans were younger we had a Zafira that me and the mrs slept in a couple of times at festivals ( once cause it was hail stones ! ). I remember being told that I should give the keys to the wife ( non-driver ) as i was sleeping after 1 or 2 shandies in the drivers seat.

[Comfy Bean]

Oh and always leave one of the windows down a bit and use something for curtains.

[t8yman]

an old acquaintance of mine used to sleep in his car regularly (he was quite a wealthy bloke) he liked his pop a bit too much, and would drive to the most popular bar in town (where I worked) and stagger to his car, get a quilt out of the boot, and sleep on the back seat, he claimed he was nicked whilst retrieving the quilt one night, as he was still responsible for the vehicle and had his keys, and was pissed.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

an old acquaintance of mine used to sleep in his car regularly (he was quite a wealthy bloke) he liked his pop a bit too much, and would drive to the most popular bar in town (where I worked) and stagger to his car, get a quilt out of the boot, and sleep on the back seat, he claimed he was nicked whilst retrieving the quilt one night, as he was still responsible for the vehicle and had his keys, and was pissed.

I used to keep a quilt and a pillow in the boot of my car too. I'm afraid to say that I drove off to a public park in the car whilst pissed on many an occassion. I'd then get the quilt and pillow out of the boot and sleep in the car until I woke up. Mind you, I was experiencing domestic violence at the time (yes, it does happen the other way too), which drove me to get away from my, now ex, girlfriend lest I react in the same manner in which she was treating me.

[lost]

Mate of mine was done whilst we were students for being drunk in charge of a vehicle. We were having a night out where he planned to stay at mine the end of the night. He'd driven into town before hand and left his car parked in a side street. About half way through the night he decides he's hungry, goes to a kebab place and as there were no seats inside takes his kebab back to his car to eat before rejoining us in the pub.

Sadly a passing policeman noticed and nicked him. Apparently the whole interview was the police trying to get him to admit he intended to drive which he denied and when it went to court he got points rather than a ban. I'm guessing they could of upgraded the offence if he'd admitted he was going to drive.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Mate of mine was done whilst we were students for being drunk in charge of a vehicle. We were having a night out where he planned to stay at mine the end of the night. He'd driven into town before hand and left his car parked in a side street. About half way through the night he decides he's hungry, goes to a kebab place and as there were no seats inside takes his kebab back to his car to eat before rejoining us in the pub.

Sadly a passing policeman noticed and nicked him. Apparently the whole interview was the police trying to get him to admit he intended to drive which he denied and when it went to court he got points rather than a ban. I'm guessing they could of upgraded the offence if he'd admitted he was going to drive.

It drives me up the fucking wall with the police men and, I suspect, women's hipocrisy. I was once invited to a party by a solicitor who introduced me to other solicitors, a wide range of police men and detectives, as well as a a plethora of devout criminals. To say they were all pissing in the same pot is an understatement. Anyway, I made small talk with this big fat Superintendent who was fucking stociously drunk. At some point he ended the conversation by saying that he was now going to drive home. I said to him that he must be joking, to which he replied that he wasn't and that they all don their helmets or caps when driving home pissed, so as not to get pulled over by their colleagues.

Just to clarify - I'm not saying all coppers are w*nkers, because they are not. It's just that in my experience, it's the majority that are. How the others (eg CCC Cheese) remain normal in that environment baffles me.

[eFestivals]

How the others (eg CCC Cheese) remain normal in that environment baffles me.

Countless bits of research gets to say that they don't remain normal.

The words that are most normally used to describe things is the old bill's "canteen culture". It's just about inescapable by all coppers - those who do escape the canteen culture also end up escaping the old bill entirely, either because they hate it or because the hatred of their 'colleagues' forces them out.

[windy_miller]

Countless bits of research gets to say that they don't remain normal.

The words that are most normally used to describe things is the old bill's "canteen culture". It's just about inescapable by all coppers - those who do escape the canteen culture also end up escaping the old bill entirely, either because they hate it or because the hatred of their 'colleagues' forces them out.

One of my in-laws is a cooper and he admitted that being a policeman had made him a lot more right wing than he used to be.

[windy_miller]

Don't see what making barrels has to do with law enforcement

Haha well spotted!

[kerplunk]

I've got a mondeo estate with privacy glass which I sleep in on occasion - with the seats folded down I can stretch out in the back fine. Very handy. Just find somewhere to park off road if you're gonna drink and then your safe. I've opted for 24hr car parks that specifically state no sleeping in vehicles overnight - better that than getting rousted by a zealous copper on the street.

Note you may need to rtfm for how to disable the alarm if it self-arms like mine does. The first time I slept in my current (Mk4) mondeo I overlooked that requirement and made myself unpopular with other campers!

[zero000]

It drives me up the fucking wall with the police men and, I suspect, women's hipocrisy. I was once invited to a party by a solicitor who introduced me to other solicitors, a wide range of police men and detectives, as well as a a plethora of devout criminals. To say they were all pissing in the same pot is an understatement. Anyway, I made small talk with this big fat Superintendent who was fucking stociously drunk. At some point he ended the conversation by saying that he was now going to drive home. I said to him that he must be joking, to which he replied that he wasn't and that they all don their helmets or caps when driving home pissed, so as not to get pulled over by their colleagues.

I've had a similar experience myself. My friend's dad is a retired copper and he had no problem driving home after 6 double vodka and cokes. Edited January 2, 2015 by zero000

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I've got a mondeo estate with privacy glass which I sleep in on occasion - with the seats folded down I can stretch out in the back fine. Very handy. Just find somewhere to park off road if you're gonna drink and then your safe. I've opted for 24hr car parks that specifically state no sleeping in vehicles overnight - better that than getting rousted by a zealous copper on the street.

Note you may need to rtfm for how to disable the alarm if it self-arms like mine does. The first time I slept in my current (Mk4) mondeo I overlooked that requirement and made myself unpopular with other campers!

Aaahh, the mondeo estate with privacy glass. A finer dogging car you'll be hard pressed to beat.

PS - That was meant as a joke kerplunk, and not an aspersal on your nocturnal activities.

[feral chile]

I used to keep a quilt and a pillow in the boot of my car too. I'm afraid to say that I drove off to a public park in the car whilst pissed on many an occassion. I'd then get the quilt and pillow out of the boot and sleep in the car until I woke up. Mind you, I was experiencing domestic violence at the time (yes, it does happen the other way too), which drove me to get away from my, now ex, girlfriend lest I react in the same manner in which she was treating me.

I don't know which is worse, someone hitting someone who can't hit back, or someone hitting someone who won't hit back.

I remember seeing a pretty schoolmate once slap a guy in the face at full force for fun.

I was so angry. I'm not saying violence is ever justified, but counting on the other person's social taboos/general decency is seriously out of order.

Edited January 3, 2015 by feral chile

[kaosmark2]

I don't know which is worse, someone hitting someone who can't hit back, or someone hitting someone who won't hit back.

I remember seeing a pretty schoolmate once slap a guy in the face at full force for fun.

I was so angry. I'm not saying violence is ever justified, but counting on the other person's social taboos/general decency is seriously out of order.

That said, I dislike the sexism of guys saying "I don't hit girls". I would be more inclined to hit a girl back than randomly hit a guy for no reason.

[kerplunk]

Aaahh, the mondeo estate with privacy glass. A finer dogging car you'll be hard pressed to beat.

PS - That was meant as a joke kerplunk, and not an aspersal on your nocturnal activities.

You do see some strange activity when parked up in car parks at night!

I think I'd go for an S-max for the extra headroom....

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I don't know which is worse, someone hitting someone who can't hit back, or someone hitting someone who won't hit back.

I remember seeing a pretty schoolmate once slap a guy in the face at full force for fun.

I was so angry. I'm not saying violence is ever justified, but counting on the other person's social taboos/general decency is seriously out of order.

Yep, they were very shitty days, but happily long gone now.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

You do see some strange activity when parked up in car parks at night!

I think I'd go for an S-max for the extra headroom....

I once got totally lost at the foot of a mountain in Wales. I decided to drive up a small track, thinking it was the right way to go. It wasn't. It led me to an array of cars in a cul de sac where there were a load of blokes playing with each other. As it was a tiny track I had my full beams on when I drove in to their area. Their response was to immediately shit themselves and run back to their own cars in panic. They must have thought I was a copper, I suspect. Anyway, I couldn't get out of their fast enough, because I kind of read in to the situation that they didn't like that shock to the system. It was a very hasty 3 point turn.