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Great the paranoid are ruining the road trip experience for us normal people
WHA ...?!
You're obviously too young to remember the rash of murders (and other heinous crimes) that occurred at Florida rest stops years ago ... which is why all Florida rest stops have an armed state patrolman on duty 24/7. But you still can't park there. As soon as you rest, pee and drink your orange juice, they shoo you away.
Do the words, "Creepy old men hanging around a rest stop" meaning anything to you?
Depends on the state law. Some ban it, some don't.
In Texas, it is always legal to sleep on public land, such as a beach or a highway rest area or a public hunting or fishing area. (Unless the particular spot is in a regulated zone, such as a state park, and as long as you are not impeding normal traffic.)
Ive slept in rest areas in almost every state, and never been run off, except in Monroe County Florida (the Keys), where you will be run off within an hour by the county deputies. In most states, the police will not send a sleepy driver out into the traffic, and the purpose of the law (if there is one) is to keep people from becoming permanent residents at rest areas.
You're obviously too young to remember the rash of murders (and other heinous crimes) that occurred at Florida rest stops years ago ... which is why all Florida rest stops have an armed state patrolman on duty 24/7. But you still can't park there. As soon as you rest, pee and drink your orange juice, they shoo you away.
Do the words, "Creepy old men hanging around a rest stop" meaning anything to you?
Well that's Florida, no one drives through Florida.
If i'm sleeping at a rest stop it'll probably be in some random middle america state like Illinois or Kentucky
And i'm practically part ninja and i have great self defense skills and cat like reflexes. i aint scared of an old man.
Depends on the state law. Some ban it, some don't.
In Texas, it is always legal to sleep on public land, such as a beach or a highway rest area or a public hunting or fishing area. (Unless the particular spot is in a regulated zone, such as a state park, and as long as you are not impeding normal traffic.)
Ive slept in rest areas in almost every state, and never been run off, except in Monroe County Florida (the Keys), where you will be run off within an hour by the county deputies. In most states, the police will not send a sleepy driver out into the traffic, and the purpose of the law (if there is one) is to keep people from becoming permanent residents at rest areas.
Rest areas are not safe. Some states have added armed security due to tourists being killed at rest stops. Of course use them. But do not think of them as safe areas.
Yeah I agree there are just too many freakos that frequent rest stops. I hate just using the restrooms at those nasty things let alone sleep there...I'll pass. You should always have extra money for motel/ hotel. Most of them are really cheap off the highway in really small towns.
I found this list of interstate rest stops and their amenities. There are contacts that enable the traveler to determine whether they allow overnight stays. I think it makes sense that if they don't have the facilities or if potential crime in the area is a concern, they are not going to allow it. Also, they would need to have the manpower to be able to clean up after visitors and with the cutbacks in state and government funding, these rest stops may just not have the funds to maintain 24 hour facilities.
Yeah I agree there are just too many freakos that frequent rest stops. I hate just using the restrooms at those nasty things let alone sleep there...I'll pass. You should always have extra money for motel/ hotel.Most of them are really cheap off the highway in really small towns.
And yet the bathrooms at rest areas make you queasy.
I've done it in Flordia where there was an armed security guard on hand, but only because I waited too late to find a motel.
Never do it again, with the trucks running with their AC's on and trying to keep your windows down while the mosquitoes eating you alive. Then putting them up to run your own AC's.
Where I was, there was a lot of traffic so it seemed safe.
Is it legal to just park in a rest area, snuggle up in a blankey and take a snooze?
Some of the ones in Illinois have signs advising you not to drive tired, so I'm going to assume that it's perfectly fine to do so here.
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