Sleeping in a car isn’t illegal necessarily, but there are increasing popup communities that settle in empty/low traffic lots and live out of their vehicles. Like most of America’s problems, our politicans are sending police forces to “clean up” the effect, instead of trying to solve the cause.
Afaik it is allowed as long as its only to regain your driving capabilities and not for multiple nights I’m a row on the same place. The Straßenverkehrsordnung does not state otherwise.
Interesting, I’ve been told that it’s illegal to sleep in your car in Canada when drunk because being in a car with possession of the keys is enough to show intent to DUI and get arrested.
I imagine it’s something you could fight in court and win with a good lawyer, but it always seemed counter intuitive to me.
IIRC that’s how it works in the US, too. Apparently you’re supposed to leave your keys outside the car if you’re drunk and want to sleep in it (and even then it’s only a court defense, not something that would stop you from getting arrested in the first place).
Often times it’s loitering charges, loitering being a fancy term for “being out in public whenever it displeases a person of authority”. Sitting on a public bench, having a picnic, walking on a sidewalk, sleeping in your car, whatever, all of those can and will get you loitering charges depending on your exact location in the United States.
Then you have public intoxication charges which on paper are only supposed to apply if you’re causing a public disturbance (despite disorderly conduct already being a charge for that, public intoxication just makes it more severe), but in reality it’s mostly used to harass drunk people who couldn’t get a ride home, or uber home, and decided not to drive while drunk. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had a higher likelihood of getting arrested for public intoxication while drunk walking/public transporting home than of getting arrested for DUI while drunk driving home. But public intoxication and even DUI can also be used if you’re sleeping off drunkenness in your car, while the car is turned off.
Less actually illegal and more that the lots are privately owned and the owning companies can have you removed from the lots of they don’t like what you’re doing.
Is sleeping in your car being illegal some sort of FREEDOM©®™ thing that I’m way too European to understand?
Sleeping in a car isn’t illegal necessarily, but there are increasing popup communities that settle in empty/low traffic lots and live out of their vehicles. Like most of America’s problems, our politicans are sending police forces to “clean up” the effect, instead of trying to solve the cause.
Here’s an article on Vehicle Residency https://www.thenation.com/article/society/homelessness-vehicle-residency-housing/
Sleeping in your car is actually illegal in a lot of places.
In Ohio I’d have to wake up every couple of hours to switch parking lots to avoid cops/loitering charges
Yeah, check local ordinances this is not legal or universal advice lol
Sleeping in your car in public is not allowed in Germany either
Afaik it is allowed as long as its only to regain your driving capabilities and not for multiple nights I’m a row on the same place. The Straßenverkehrsordnung does not state otherwise.
Interesting, I’ve been told that it’s illegal to sleep in your car in Canada when drunk because being in a car with possession of the keys is enough to show intent to DUI and get arrested.
I imagine it’s something you could fight in court and win with a good lawyer, but it always seemed counter intuitive to me.
IIRC that’s how it works in the US, too. Apparently you’re supposed to leave your keys outside the car if you’re drunk and want to sleep in it (and even then it’s only a court defense, not something that would stop you from getting arrested in the first place).
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Wtf are you supposed do if it’s cold out? Just die? So stupid.
No. You are not allow to leave your body out in the cold. That is a public health hazard and littering.
Simple solution: sleep on the back seats if drunk.
Yeah it’s that way everywhere
It is absolutely allowed in Germany. Private parking lots can forbid it, but on public parking space it’s allowed
In some places, parking lots are monitored by security and you’ll be kicked out if you’re sleeping in your car in the parking lot.
Often times it’s loitering charges, loitering being a fancy term for “being out in public whenever it displeases a person of authority”. Sitting on a public bench, having a picnic, walking on a sidewalk, sleeping in your car, whatever, all of those can and will get you loitering charges depending on your exact location in the United States.
Then you have public intoxication charges which on paper are only supposed to apply if you’re causing a public disturbance (despite disorderly conduct already being a charge for that, public intoxication just makes it more severe), but in reality it’s mostly used to harass drunk people who couldn’t get a ride home, or uber home, and decided not to drive while drunk. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had a higher likelihood of getting arrested for public intoxication while drunk walking/public transporting home than of getting arrested for DUI while drunk driving home. But public intoxication and even DUI can also be used if you’re sleeping off drunkenness in your car, while the car is turned off.
Don’t forget local “no camping” laws meant to keep homeless people from sleeping in their cars on public property/public parking.
Less actually illegal and more that the lots are privately owned and the owning companies can have you removed from the lots of they don’t like what you’re doing.
It’s illegal in the netherlands too
You have cars? I thought all cars are forcibly seized and replaced with bikes at the border.
It’s because those things happen if you allow people from general Benelux to have a car.