Sleeping in Car at Car Park

LondonGal

Mark, I'm afraid BSMS is correct here but only if the keys are in the car.

If the keys are with a friend or away from the vehicle you are obviously unable to drive it. If they are in the car you're laying yourself open to prosecution.:beer:

Rover_Driver

bsms1147 wrote: »

How about the offence of being drunk and in charge of a motor vehicle?

There is a statutory defence that you are not guilty if there is no likelihood of you driving while in that condition. s.4 (3) RTA 1988.

bsms1147

Rover_Driver wrote: »

There is a statutory defence that you are not guilty if there is no likelihood of you driving while in that condition. s.4 (3) RTA 1988.

You have to prove it though, and it can be tricky.

londonTiger

i think every piece of road has some sort of road markings in London, whether it's single yellow, double yellow, red, zigzag or bay. Was pleasantly surprised on my visit to Manchester when I found roads without any marking what so ever and I could just park up and not pay a penny to anyone.

ignore the pointless discussion about drink driving bs, police have better things to do than wake someone up sleeping in their car, just park up in a spot unlikely to have a lot of passers by - i think you'll just get idiots harassing you if you're parked in a high footfall area.

bigjl

Mark_Mark wrote: »

There's no offence if that's the case.

That is irresponsible in the extreme.

The penalty for being drunk in charge of a vehicle is the same as drink driving.

If a copper finds you sleeping in a public place, such as a carpark, with the keys in either the ignition or present in the vehicle.

Then that Officer is very likely to report you for the offence.

Wether you successfully defend the allegation is a seperate issue.

bigjl

londonTiger wrote: »

ignore the pointless discussion about drink driving bs, police have better things to do than wake someone up sleeping in their car, just park up in a spot unlikely to have a lot of passers by - i think you'll just get idiots harassing you if you're parked in a high footfall area.

Maybe the discussion about being drunk in charge is something you chose to ignore,a bit like having proper vehicle insurance when using a vehicls for delivering goods, but when sleeping in a car if needs to be a consideration for people who may chose to socialise or perhaps may enjoy a drink or two after a long day in a strange city.

I would only do it if i had a van or estate car with privacy glass so that i could have privacy and possibly use a camping sleeping mat or similar.

I still think using a Formula 1 or Ibis is the way forward.

nash1977

If a london councillor can do it (with a bottle of wine), I don't think it will be an issue

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/london-councillor-sleeping-in-car-to-attend-conservative-party-conference-8848668.html

bigjl

LondonGal wrote: »

Mark, I'm afraid BSMS is correct here but only if the keys are in the car.

If the keys are with a friend or away from the vehicle you are obviously unable to drive it. If they are in the car you're laying yourself open to prosecution.:beer:

How would the OP get in the car without the keys.

Or is the friend that is holding the keys for them going to open the door then go home afterwards!

bigjl

nash1977 wrote: »

If a london councillor can do it (with a bottle of wine), I don't think it will be an issue

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/london-councillor-sleeping-in-car-to-attend-conservative-party-conference-8848668.html

And you can see that he does it in a large estate car with a proper camp bed.

Which is the only way i would consider it.

And don't forget that was likely more a publicity stunt than any real attempt to save money

Aretnap

Mark_Mark wrote: »

There's no offence if that's the case.

Not necessarily. No intention of driving != no likelihood of driving. The bench would still have to consider the possibility that in spite of having the best of intentions when you got into the car, you'd wake up cold, drunk and uncomfortable in the middle of the night and think "!!!!!! this, I'll chance it". Or that you'd drive off first thing in the morning assuming that you were under the limit when actually you were still over it.

In any event as the onus is on you to prove the statutory defence you're much better off not getting into your car drunk in the first place than you are failing the breath test and hoping that someone will believe you when you say you wouldn't have driven.