Date:         Wed, 19 Oct 94 08:52:53 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "J. Walker" <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Street camping

On Wed, 19 Oct 94 07:17:24 CDT M. Asghar Bhatti said:
>... but I am curious to hear what are others experience in this regard.
>Is it illegal to sleep in your car on a public street?

i think technically it IS illegal to sleep in your car on someone else's
public street ... that is, the owners of the houses can get nervous and
call the cops, who can cite you for Loitering or some other conveniently
trumped-up charge.  but, like all other misdemeanors, it's a case of whether
anyone wants to enforce the law at any particular moment.

the question is: where else to sleep? i've tried truck stops and they are
way too loud and busy all night long, and if you try to park out by the
trucks, you may wind up eating the fumes of some truckers refrigeration unit.

shopping malls might be ok, if they are in a good neighborhood, and the
security cops don't see you setting up. big grocery stores might be ok as
well. but anywhere that is gonna be really safe (other than a neighborhood)
will likely be very well lighted all night long, and you might have trouble
with that. if it is open 24-hours (like some grocery stores) then you'll
have a lot of traffic all night.

joel