Where is the vehicle parked overnight

Scotland has a more liberal approach to wild camping than England and Wales. In some parts of Dartmoor wild camping is permitted. Otherwise permission from the landowner should be sought. Overnight parking in lay-bys is generally tolerated, in the same way that lorry drivers taking a roadside nap is tolerated.

Being polite and respectful when engaging with landowners is likely to result in a more positive outcome. To ensure you adhere completely to the law, you should park up in a campsite if one is nearby.

Passing places are designed to allow traffic to pass each other on single track roads. Never park in these. With huge pressure on campsites and other potential parking areas, it's important to plan where you'll be staying well in advance.

We use cookies on our website. To find out more and manage your cookie preferences with us please view our cookies policy. Request Callback. UK and European vehicle breakdown recovery.

What the law says. Can I park overnight? What the law says Tuesday, 01 December , However, it can sometimes be difficult to be completely accurate when answering an insurers questions. For example, asking where you park your car is not a black and white question as it can vary. Whilst some motorists will keep their cars religiously on the street, on a driveway or in a garage, others will differentiate between the three.

There are an abundance of perfectly viable reasons why car that is kept in a garage overnight nine times out of ten, may occasionally need to be parked on the drive or even the street.

You may also stay away from home and need to leave it parked in a different location entirely. It is important for insurers to note where drivers keep their car as that could help define how secure their car is.

For example, if it is left on the street rather than in a locked garage, it is more likely to be stolen or damaged. In your case, whilst you mostly keep it safe in your garage when at home, there are some times where you have to keep it on the drive. If anything should happen, you are concerned you may not be covered by your insurer. It would seem rather miserly of an insurer to refuse to pay out if on that occasion it wasn't in the garage - but it is always important to double check with your firm to see where they stand on the issue.

This will change from firm to firm, so This is Money contacted a number of car insurers to see what they would do should a car be damaged or stolen whilst out on a driveway - instead of in a garage. If a car was stolen from your driveway, it will depend on your insurer as to what your cover is. An Admiral spokesperson replies: In this case you would probably still be covered if your car was stolen or broken into. We only need to know where your car is kept overnight for the majority of the time.

We appreciate that people can't always park their car in the same place every night and occasionally have to park elsewhere. For example, if you have a dedicated parking space but someone else is parked there, or if you're staying away from home overnight.

That said it is important to be honest with your insurer regarding where your car is usually kept overnight. If a customer said they usually keep their car in a garage, but in reality rarely did so, this would be a misrepresentation of risk and could affect their claim or the amount they could claim for.

A Direct Line spokesperson replies: For both Direct Line and Churchill we do not ask where a vehicle is kept within our question set. In this scenario it would not impact the cover they have on their policy, whether the vehicle is parked in their garage or on their drive. An Aviva spokesperson replies: Providing that there is no condition in the customer's policy that the vehicle must be kept in a garage, then it would not invalidate their insurance.

However, if at the point of claim it was proven that the customer never parked their car in the garage, this would be taken into account and we would apply a proportional settlement to any payment. Occasionally some policies will include a requirement that a vehicle should be garaged when not in use during certain hours of the day — for example between 10pm and 6am.

Such a requirement is usually only applied for more 'desirable' vehicles or vehicles that have a higher probability of being maliciously damaged or stolen. There are a few steps you can take to protect your car from thieves and vandals when parking your car overnight. Installing security lights that are activated by motion sensors to your garage door or driveway can be a good idea. Another quick and easy way to improve the security of your car is to keep your keys well hidden within your home.

Most thieves know to look in obvious locations near your front door - so make it harder for them by keeping your keys somewhere else.

If thieves do get to them, read our guide on what to do if you lose your car keys. It would be unreasonable for insurers to expect you to park in the exact same location every day for the duration of your policy. However, you do still need to be mindful of how secure your car is when being parked overnight away from your usual location.

Parking your car under street lighting can be a good way to reduce the likelihood of something happening to your car whilst parked overnight. However, if you regularly park somewhere other than the location specified on your insurance policy, you will have to inform your insurer. If you have a telematics-based insurance policy and your car is fitted with a black box, then yes. In addition to relaying information regarding your style of driving, your black box will inform your insurer of where you are parking overnight.