Power Nap

Taking a potentially life-saving kip by the side of the road will still be legal and encouraged, despite a proposed local law banning camping in cars, City Hall said yesterday.

The assurance comes after council last week announced the proposed ban as part of a range of measures aimed at curbing anti-social behaviour like hooning and chroming.

Several readers contacted the Geelong Advertiser querying whether council's new laws were at odds with road safety campaigns by the police and TAC.

But council's governance portfolio holder Jan Farrell said the proposed law targeted people sleeping overnight in their cars, especially during holiday periods like Easter and New Year's Eve.

``The police always have discretion, and the police would welcome powernapping as would the rest of the community, and would not be penalising people for powernapping,'' Cr Farrell said.

``In particular we've had a problem in Ocean Grove on New Year's Eve, so this law is to assist police with managing these problems.

``It's responding to requests by our police and our community.''

And police were yesterday singing from the same songsheet, emphasising they would apply the laws, if passed, with a good dose of discretion and commonsense.

Inspector Bill Mathers, of Geelong police, said the new laws would prevent people abusing a loophole in local laws.

``It's basically to stop people coming down and being able to party then sleep all night in their cars,'' he said.

``We don't want carloads of people rocking up without accommodation and causing disruption to the local community.

``It's not to stop people having a powernap and we still encourage that.''

Similar laws already apply in Surf Coast Shire, where police can issue $125 on-the-spot fines for car camping.