# Is it true that you can be arrested for sleeping in your car? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 23, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-you-can-be-arrested-for-sleeping-in-your-car/568689 "2011-01-23T20:49:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-you-can-be-arrested-for-sleeping-in-your-car/568689/21 "2011-01-24T01:44:25Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Depends on the state. There are places where it’s a violation if the keys are in any way accessible to the driver. Agreed. “Care and control” is often the defining factor in some jurisdictions. You often meet the standard of “care” by owning the vehicle, but "control’ is a different matter. Asleep in the car, while having the keys in your possession, might constitute “control.” Asleep in the car while your buddy elsewhere holds the keys might not. You should be able to see the difference, especially if the sleeper is legally drunk. It depends on the jurisdiction if “care and control” is applied; and most importantly, how “control” is defined in the jurisdiction. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-you-can-be-arrested-for-sleeping-in-your-car/568689/22 "2011-01-24T02:12:12Z")
St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa was arrested in 2008 when he was found [asleep in his car.](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/tony-larussa-dui-arrest) Of course, the article points out that a) LaRussa’s car was stopped in the middle of an intersection and B) LaRussa failed field sobriety checks and was later tested and found to have a blood alcohol level above the legal limit. In short, he was drunk. But obviously, there was no way the cop could have known any of that when he came upon LaRussa asleep behind the wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-you-can-be-arrested-for-sleeping-in-your-car/568689/23 "2011-01-24T03:30:28Z")
Walmart does officially [offer RV parking](http://walmartstores.com/7657.aspx) at many of its stores. It’s good for business, apparently. When I was living in Hermosillo, Mexico, the local Walmart was a meeting spot for all of the American and Canadian RV’ers to meet up in order to caravan further into the country. Since then, I’ve noticed a lot of RV’s near interstate Walmarts. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-you-can-be-arrested-for-sleeping-in-your-car/568689/24 "2011-01-24T03:41:36Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > But damn, any decent person would feel guilty as hell knowing that some small family is parked outside their home living in their car. I couldn’t stand it.☹ There are folks for whom living in their very own car would be a step up. Sorry to have to tell you. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-you-can-be-arrested-for-sleeping-in-your-car/568689/25 "2011-01-24T03:54:08Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > I was once hassled by the rent-a-cop in a public parking garage for sitting in my car and reading a book (while waiting to pick up some friends). Apparently “non-parking activities” were prohibited. I got the impression it was more of a lot policy than a law, but who knows. I think a lot of rules/laws prohibiting non-parking activities in parking lots are aimed at drug deals and other nefarious goings on, but people who just want to catch a couple of winks in their car get caught up. Sounds more like he was more concerned about whether you were breaking any loitering laws. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-you-can-be-arrested-for-sleeping-in-your-car/568689/26 "2011-01-24T14:40:01Z")
I expect that in a lot of places, the color of one’s skin would be a big factor in the treatment one received. A black friend of mine fell asleep in a car once and received several expensive tickets as a result. Maybe things have changed since this was a long time ago but I doubt it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-true-that-you-can-be-arrested-for-sleeping-in-your-car/568689.md?page=1)