Man living in RV on NE Bend street says family is being awakened by truck driver blowing horn in early mornings

(Update: Adding video, comments from Kenneth Houser)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A man living with his family in an RV parked on a street in northeast Bend says they have been getting awakened by a truck driver blaring their horn early in the morning over the last couple of weeks.

Kenneth Houser told us on Thursday, "No one deserves that kind of treatment. Whether they're homeless or whether they live in a house, they don't deserve that."

Houser, who resides on NE Mary Rose Place, says that a truck driver has been purposely honking its horn two or three times to wake up residents, and he isn't sure why.

Houser, along with his brother who lives in a nearby RV, say they work in Bend, and have been struggling to make ends meet, forcing them to stay in their RV without proper hookups to sewer, power or water.

He's lived there since last summer, with his two kids and a dog named Paolo, after they had to leave an apartment.

"And that was right in the middle of all the Covid stuff, so jobs weren't really that good," Houser explained, "And then it was either the option of living in an RV or living in a tent on the streets with my kids, so I took the RV route."

Houser currently holds a job at the Eco Laundromat in east Bend on the weekends.

He knows there are those who are critical of his lifestyle, but doesn't think it warrants the frequent honking from the same slow-passing truck.

Houser explained the series of events: "Six a.m., me and the kids are still asleep, and this gentleman comes by my truck, blaring his horn. And he does it from the moment he enters the street 'til he exits the street."

He's taken to social media to criticize the truck driver and contacted Bend PD, who tell us it's not a criminal offense, but under ORS 815.225, it could be considered a traffic violation.

According to the city of Bend's camping code that went into effect back on March 1, NE Mary Rose Place is a prohibited camping spot, but it appears there are at least a couple of dozen people living there.

As the city's quick reference guide on www.bendoregon.gov/camping-code explains, sheltering in vehicles is also regulated by their parking code.

The Homeless Leadership Coalition's 2023 Point in Time Count shows that 14% of people fall into homelessness in Central Oregon due to family or personal reasons, while 2% say the pandemic put them in their current position.

The count also shows only 1% of households experiencing homelessness are families parenting youth.

Houser falls into that 1%.

He explained, "All we really want to do is be left alone. I mean, we work, we're clean, we don't do drugs or anything like that. We just want to be left alone, and let us make due the best we can."

According to the city of Bend's noise variance, it's illegal to create sounds above 60 decibels from 10 PM to 7 AM in a commercial zone.

According to the Hearing Center of Excellence, a car horn can get as loud as 110 decibels.