Is It Illegal To Sleep At An Ohio Rest Stop?

Road trips can be some of the best and most fun times of someone's lives, but it can be a tiring task. Whether you're the driver who has to focus on the road and keep everyone safe, the front seat passenger who has to keep the driver awake, be the DJ, communicate directions, and distribute snacks, or the backseat passengers who are there to provide entertainment and make reminders about bathroom and food stops. With all of this going on, you'll eventually need to stop and reboot.

If you have ever been on a road trip or traveled a significant distance on the highway/expressway, then you are familiar with rest stops or service centers. These are here for truck drivers and other vehicle operators who have been traveling for a long distance. These rest stops and service areas often have food, bathrooms with showers, fuel and other necessities available for use or purchase. Although rest is free and you simply just have to close your eyes, not all states allow you to sleep at their rest stops. Is Ohio a state that you may stop and rest your eyes, or do you have to keep it pushing?

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Believe it or not, you can sleep at any Ohio rest stop that you please and in fact, Ohio has some of the most relaxed laws in the country when it comes to rest stops. There is no restriction for the amount of time that you can spend at a rest stop in Ohio, which also means there is no limit on the amount of sleep you can get at an Ohio rest stop either.

Not only are you allowed to stay as long as you want at any Ohio rest stop, but the Buckeye state is also one of a few states that allows you to leave your vehicle at a rest stop as well. You can only leave your vehicle unattended for about 3 hours before it will be towed away but that's better than other states where you're not allowed to leave your vehicle at all.

They do make it clear that rest stops are for resting so if you appear to be setting up camp or doing anything else suspicious you may be asked to leave. Each rest stop may have their own rules so make sure to find, read, and adhere to those as well. It's kind of hard to break any rules at an Ohio rest stop since there are so few, but the important part is that you rest as much as you want since that is your legal right.