wild camping in layby (1 Viewer)

[shardav]

is it legal to camp overnight in a motorhome in a layby as i always see lorrys stopping overnight and i always thought it was illegal for them to do so

 

[pappajohn]

hi and welcome to the fun.

with regard to your question......i dont think its strictly legal to sleep in your van in a layby as its still part of the road.

if the layby is set back from the road and a hedge or similar is between it and the road then i dont think you'd be bothered by the plod but you might still be told to move on if they're in the mood, so no wild parties with copious amounts of alcohol as you may have to drive.:Angry:

you could use a layby being used by truckers and you probably wont be bothered but could you cope with the noise of their fridge units running all night and trucks coming and going at all hours:Sad:

 

[PeteH]

laybyes

Hi

Over the years I have had many "overnights" in lay-bys, we have our favourites, BUT only for one night En route to ????. I try to avoid the obvious ones, and the best ones are on bypassed roads where the "old" road has been downgraded. these are often known to the older generation of truckers and are quiet(er),as they are unused due to the old 7.5t restriction on Truck use, (dont apply to me m'lud as I'm a motorcaravan?!!).

The worst bit is that Most of the well used ones smell like S***H*****!!!!

Mind you do get some "funny" things going on, eg one I know is nowadays a regular haunt of "boy meets boy for good time" Nudge nudge, wink wink!!!. and my mate recently spent the night on one (old) layby only to be knocked up and "propositioned" :Blush:by what looked like a 13 year old girl!!! good job his missus was in the van with him!!!, she told her where to go. :thumb: . And there is one (allegedly) near newcastle which is used for the "sport" of "doging" (No idea what that is!!!)

Pete

 

[Wildman]

I have always felt comfortable overnighting in a layby, just one night providing it is off the road and not in a busy area. Annoyingly the laws for lorry drivers are different to us. We do not have an automatic right to sleep in the vehicle and there are often signs prohibiting it. Play it by ear. don't put out awnings, tables chairs or show internal lights that could confused motorists. Good luck

 

[GJH]

As Wildman mentions, the laws for lorry drivers are different. This results from the restriction on driving hours which applies to lorry drivers so is a road safety measure which benefits all of us. Obviously, lorry drivers cannot pull in to a campsite/caravan park or CL/CS - which is, of course, available to people driving motorhomes (OK, I realise that some larger RVs might have problems).

The above notwithstanding, the advice given by others is sound.

Graham

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[derekfaeberwick]

A layby is part of the highway and as such the laws re such apply. I have the the receipt some where for a ticket for parking in a layby on the A 66 @ Penrith because the vehicle was not showing lights.This is unlikely to happen to you but if you hack plod of they can do you.

 

[shardav]

thanks for your reply derek but heres a question why is it the lorry drivers get away with parking in a layby all night as when i was driving 6 years ago they was not allowed to do so and you being a hgv driver do you park in laybys

 

[pappajohn]

thanks for your reply derek but heres a question why is it the lorry drivers get away with parking in a layby all night as when i was driving 6 years ago they was not allowed to do so and you being a hgv driver do you park in laybys

all down to permitted driving hours.

you may be 20/30 miles from a truck stop which could put you 30 mins or more over your allowed hours.
pull in early and your boss aint gonna like it much.....30 miles lost.

the Gov made the rules so the Gov have to make allowances.

 

[passionwagon]

I have always felt comfortable overnighting in a layby, just one night providing it is off the road and not in a busy area. Annoyingly the laws for lorry drivers are different to us. We do not have an automatic right to sleep in the vehicle and there are often signs prohibiting it. Play it by ear. don't put out awnings, tables chairs or show internal lights that could confused motorists. Good luck

Please quote which regulation allows HGV drivers but not others to sleep in their trucks in lay-byes ( separated or parallel )

 

[scotjimland]

For me a lay-by would be a last resort, and I mean LAST resort..

however the highway code gives this advice..

91

Driving when you are tired greatly increases your risk of collision. To minimise this risk

* make sure you are fit to drive. Do not begin a journey if you are tired. Get a good night’s sleep before embarking on a long journey
* avoid undertaking long journeys between midnight and 6 am, when natural alertness is at a minimum
* plan your journey to take sufficient breaks. A minimum break of at least 15 minutes after every two hours of driving is recommended
* if you feel at all sleepy, stop in a safe place. Do not stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway
* the most effective ways to counter sleepiness are to drink, for example, two cups of caffeinated coffee and to take a short nap (at least 15 minutes).

So lets say you have stopped for a kip in a lay-by and plod comes knocking, you say, sorry officer but I'm too tired to drive further.. do you think he would risk you having an accident and he got the blame by insisting you to drive on ? I think not..

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Colin and Jaen Andrews]

Gloucester

Hi
just quick reply to Yorkshire - we have them too in Gloucester - we go to a place for our one night off site. Yes it is well known as a d****ing car park. We find it 'no problem' we can see what is going on but they do not bother us. Hey ho. We are gone in the morning.
Have not tried a layby but if needs must then will give it a go at some point.hardhat
You sure see life full timing in an RV and we love it.
Jaen and Colin x

 

[Wildman]

Please quote which regulation allows HGV drivers but not others to sleep in their trucks in lay-byes ( separated or parallel )

shant, I really cannot be bothered to go and look for the relevent legislation, as I originally said I am happy to park in laybys, always have been and never had a query from anyone. But then only stay one night and gone in the morning. Far too much chasing legislation at times for my liking. lighten up this is a fun site. hee hee.
Oh what the hell, papajohn has explained why lorry drivers are exempt the following legislation. Click on link below.
<Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c. 33)>

the relevent passage

(1) If it appears to a local authority that persons are for the time being residing in a vehicle or vehicles within that authority’s area—
(a) on any land forming part of a highway;
(b) on any other unoccupied land; or
(c) on any occupied land without the consent of the occupier,
the authority may give a direction that those persons and any others with them are to leave the land and remove the vehicle or vehicles and any other property they have with them on the land.

 

[Losos]

But then only stay one night and gone in the morning. Far too much chasing legislation at times for my liking. lighten up this is a fun site. hee hee.

I agree with you on this and when I began to think about getting a MH two of my prime aims were (a) reduce the cost of hotels which on a 30 or 40 day trip can add a lot (b) reduce the hassle of finding a hotel in a town you don't know and which likely has all sorts of one way systems and restricted areas.

Parking overnight in a lay by (One which has a hedge or something between it and the road) seemed to me to be a good idea and I'm pleased to find some people who are happy to do it.

Thereeis far too much pernickity legislation which give plod and others far too much authority in matters which are hardly major dangers to the nation or whatever.

Just my opinion.

 

[hilldweller]

(a) reduce the cost of hotels which on a 30 or 40 day trip can add a lot (b) reduce the hassle of finding a hotel in a tow

On our first big EU trip by MH last year we were comparing it to doing it by bike for many years.

MH - struggle to find a campsite. Pay a reasonable portion of Formula 1 hotel price.
Bike - ride 'till tired, flop in to nearest hotel, Formula 1 / Campanile.

Actually more expensive by MH with it's high fuel consumption.
And a small car is cheaper to run than a bike.

 

[pappajohn]

could get technical and take them to the letter of the law but why get up plods nose.....

77 Power of local authority to direct unauthorised campers to leave land
(1) If it appears to a local authority that persons are for the time being residing in a vehicle or vehicles within that authority’s area—
(a) on any land forming part of a highway; (layby)
(b) on any other unoccupied land; or
(c) on any occupied land without the consent of the occupier,
the authority may give a direction that those persons and any others with them are to leave the land and remove the vehicle or vehicles and any other property they have with them on the land.
(2) Notice of a direction under subsection (1) must be served on the persons to whom the direction applies, but it shall be sufficient for this purpose for the direction to specify the land and (except where the direction applies to only one person) to be addressed to all occupants of the vehicles on the land, without naming them.

depends on how you interpret it, but to me it seems the authorities must serve a "git orf moy larrnd" notice before kicking you off.
not much point if you are only on a stopover.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Terry]

For me a lay-by would be a last resort, and I mean LAST resort..

however the highway code gives this advice..



So lets say you have stopped for a kip in a lay-by and plod comes knocking, you say, sorry officer but I'm too tired to drive further.. do you think he would risk you having an accident and he got the blame by insisting you to drive on ? I think not..

That very thing happened to my mate plod told him to move and mate told plod to sign a paper telling him to move despite him being too tired.He slept soundly for 6 hours :thumb:
terry

 

[derekfaeberwick]

I think the police could issue a parking ticket if your lights are not on if the lay by is part of a carriageway with a speed limit over 30 mph. Unlikely to happen, but the question was asked and as I said earlier I was fined for not showing lights on the truck. Possibly larger vans would fall foul of this law even whilst parked in laybys with a lower speed limit the same as trucks.

 

[Bulletguy]

A little bit of plain common sense should tell you if it's a relatively safe place to park overnight or not.

I've parked overnight on a few layby areas in the uk and one not far from where i live is often used by hgv's, campervan/mh, and 'tuggers'. I've never seen any written law stating hgv's being exempt from this practice though some people mention there is.....do you have a link or official site stating such? Road Traffic Act maybe? If there is....post it rather than assume it.

However what i do find particularly annoying are signs on the M40 (and probably on other Motorways) reminding drivers that 'tiredness kills....take a break', only to pull in to the next service area to be confronted by huge signs telling you 'NO OVERNIGHT STOPS'.
Does anyone take a blind bit of notice of that last sign? Like heck they do!! And nobody......not even the Police enforce it.

Thankfully plain common sense prevails!

 

[GJH]

As Wildman mentions, the laws for lorry drivers are different. This results from the restriction on driving hours which applies to lorry drivers so is a road safety measure which benefits all of us. Obviously, lorry drivers cannot pull in to a campsite/caravan park or CL/CS - which is, of course, available to people driving motorhomes (OK, I realise that some larger RVs might have problems).

The above notwithstanding, the advice given by others is sound.

Graham

The mentions, by Roger & John, of S77 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 got me thinking about whether I was right in my previous post about the laws for lorry drivers being different.

S77 is there not to allow overnighting by anyone but, on the contrary, to enable the police and local authorities to get rid of illegal camp sites - mainly traveller camps, "peace camps" and the like.

I had thought that there was specific legislation which allowed lorry drivers to sleep, in lay-bys, in built in bunks in their cabs (as opposed to simply having a nap for half an hour in the driver seat, such as a car driver might do). However, having done some Googling I am unable to find any such legislation. Can anyone point me in the direction of any such legislation? Or is it just a case that such sleeping arrangements by lorry drivers are tolerated even there is no legal right?

Graham

 

[Gonewiththewind]

You beat me to it GJH. I believe the key word is "Resident". Nothing to do with taking a nap or resting up. It is to enable local authorities to remove gypsies and the likes who set up home, with all the paraphernalia that goes with residing in a lay bye.
I have overnighted in many a lay bye and car parks signed "No Camping" and never been confronted.
What does get up my nose is when you see the response, "well a mate of mine said that he worked with a guy who was in pub and over heard a conversation". Get Real.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[passionwagon]

shant, I really cannot be bothered to go and look for the relevent legislation, as I originally said I am happy to park in laybys, always have been and never had a query from anyone. But then only stay one night and gone in the morning. Far too much chasing legislation at times for my liking. lighten up this is a fun site. hee hee.
Oh what the hell, papajohn has explained why lorry drivers are exempt the following legislation. Click on link below.
<Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c. 33)>

the relevent passage



(1) If it appears to a local authority that persons are for the time being residing in a vehicle or vehicles within that authority’s area—
(a) on any land forming part of a highway;
(b) on any other unoccupied land; or
(c) on any occupied land without the consent of the occupier,
the authority may give a direction that those persons and any others with them are to leave the land and remove the vehicle or vehicles and any other property they have with them on the land.

Firstly if you are going to use this forum to quote what may or may not be allowed always try to include the facts. The reason you have not had a problem in a lay-by is it is part of the highway whether the layby is separated or not. The para (a) you so rightly quote refers to verges .:thumb:

 

[Bulletguy]

Firstly if you are going to use this forum to quote what may or may not be allowed always try to include the facts. The reason you have not had a problem in a lay-by is it is part of the highway whether the layby is separated or not. The para (a) you so rightly quote refers to verges .:thumb:

And having read through it, i can well understand why the law won't bother hassling people 'overnighting' in campervans or motorhomes! It simply isn't worth their while! Common sense should be the directive as to the suitability of lay-by parking on an overnight. Some are simply too dangerous whilst others are excellent.

This Act is set up to enforce removal of gypsies etc.....and we all know how long that takes!

 

[Wildman]

Firstly if you are going to use this forum to quote what may or may not be allowed always try to include the facts. The reason you have not had a problem in a lay-by is it is part of the highway whether the layby is separated or not. The para (a) you so rightly quote refers to verges .:thumb:

well I never claimed to be lawyer, I'm just an ignorant bastard trying to help so lighten up.:Angry::Angry:

 

[pappajohn]

Firstly if you are going to use this forum to quote what may or may not be allowed always try to include the facts. The reason you have not had a problem in a lay-by is it is part of the highway whether the layby is separated or not. The para (a) you so rightly quote refers to verges .:thumb:

Am i missing something?
in your own words you state the layby is part of the highway

the act states... '77 Power of local authority to direct unauthorised campers to leave land
(1) If it appears to a local authority that persons are for the time being residing in a vehicle or vehicles within that authority’s area—
(a) on any land forming part of a highway;.'

i cant find any specific reference to 'verges' in the act.

 

[derekfaeberwick]

is it legal to camp overnight in a motorhome in a layby as i always see lorrys stopping overnight and i always thought it was illegal for them to do so

Deary deary me, see what you've started now.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Sunty]

I was a police officer for over 30 years - even on Z-cars! and, despite the powers of the local authority to move people on who 'reside' on roads or land adjacent, I do not belive it is a specific offence to sleep overnight in a lay bye unless a local order has been passed which prevents it. In such cases there will usually be a sign stating 'no overnight parking'. I would be very surprised if anyone was to be forced to move during the night by police or local authority officials unless your continued presence in that location was dangerous or causing annoyance. If you are feeling unwell or tired - then the adivice is to stop and rest - that is what lay byes are for.
Sunty.

 

[Wildman]

The highway extends from hedgerow to hedgerow (or other natural boundary) no distinction is made in law between verge, road, and lay-by. so if for instance you have no road tax you can be done whilst parked on the verge as it forms part of the highway. No I don't have the exact quote, nor legislation, nor do I intend to look for it. There is also a distinction between sleeping and camping, certainly overseas whilst camping (putting out the awning tables chairs) etc may be illegal in many places in Spain whilst merely sleeping in the van is not, despite what the police say (in Spain that is). The legislation that exists in this country was put in place to move on undesirable elements of society, so guess that means me, then hee hee.

 

[Losos]

MH - struggle to find a campsite. Pay a reasonable portion of Formula 1 hotel price.
Bike - ride 'till tired, flop in to nearest hotel, Formula 1 / Campanile.
Actually more expensive by MH with it's high fuel consumption.
And a small car is cheaper to run than a bike.

Hi Brian,
I assume Formula 1 / Campanile is a discount hotel chain. It's interesting what you say, a few thoughts:-
a) Surely the camp sites are easier to find than some hotel / B&B in the middle of town.
b) I've never taken advantage of hotel discount offers (Maybe I should have)
c) In my MH I hope to have all my 'stuff' around and not have to worry about 'dressing for dinner' or even getting off my butt and going down the stairs to a hotel dining room.
d) O.K. costs in MH maybe more (Not if using a layby) but luckily that is not so critical to me now

A small car cheaper than a bike - hhhhmmmmm never realised that, I assume we're talking Harley davidson here

 

[scotjimland]

Hi Brian,
I assume Formula 1 / Campanile is a discount hotel chain. It's interesting what you say, a few thoughts:-
a) Surely the camp sites are easier to find than some hotel / B&B in the middle of town.
b) I've never taken advantage of hotel discount offers (Maybe I should have)
c) In my MH I hope to have all my 'stuff' around and not have to worry about 'dressing for dinner' or even getting off my butt and going down the stairs to a hotel dining room.
d) O.K. costs in MH maybe more (Not if using a layby) but luckily that is not so critical to me now

A small car cheaper than a bike - hhhhmmmmm never realised that, I assume we're talking Harley davidson here

You forgot about sleeping in a bed where thousands of others have been .. and done who knows what

No thanks.. had enough of hotels when I was working..

 

[daveyboy]

interesting topic this with me being a lorryist or truckdriver.
i occasonally park up in laybys rather than service stations who like to charge upwards of £16.

i park in these because the law limits my time at the wheel and quite right too although the average motorist isntoh:.

i do make a point of not parking in a side of the road layby as its very dangerous and as legal requirement you must leave your sidelights on.

seperated laybys are a must. a lot safer. never parked an rv in one but i would,nt see a problem. however they aint the nicest places. the smell, the litter and nocturnal goings on.

there is the odd large petrol station that has free overnight parking bays ( it does not state trucks only) and i would park here en route to somewhere else. just be considerate and dont run your generator for your coffee whilst someone next door is asleep. truckers are a funny bunch

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}