the hitchhiker

[taranaki]

I passed a hitchhiker on my way to work today,nothing unusual about that,but this one had me thinking......as well as the customary extended thumb,this guy was holding up a $10 note....I was tempted to stop for him,but I didn't.Hitchhikers hold no special fear for me,but I don't like sharing a confined space with strangers.A part of me wanted to pick him up and take him as far as I was going,without taking the payment,in recognition of his willingness to put up a share of costs.Another part of me was curious as to whether this was an isolated attempt to speed up his journey,or whether it was a technique that he used regularly.

My question to you is.......would the offer of money change the way that you treat hitchikers?

[Moppie]

I pick almost all Hitchhikers.

Exceptions are guys standing outside country pubs late at night, (no unknown drunks in my car thanks) and the odd guy who looks like he's related to his mother in just the wrong way.

Otherwise I have meet some great people from all over the world, and learned all sorts of great tips about traveling, as well as made some good if short lived friendships.
About half have offered some form of payment, I have never willingly accepted money from any of them, but one did hide about $20 in my car before he got out. I have however taken free meals, Isrealie bread baked in a billy (nice!) and of course I'll never turn down a free drink or 10.



I dont think holding money out would make me more likely to stop, if he looks like a legtimate hitcher, and I have the room 9 times out of 10 Ill stop. Infact I think it would make more less likely to stop, as he might have alterior motives, or be hiding something.
After all most hitch hikers are traveling on a budget and are hitching because they can't afford to pay for travel.
But then of course he might also have been in a hurry to catch a plane or buss etc.

[YogsVR4]

I almost never see any on my travels. From time to time I'll come across someone whos become stranded because of car troubles and I'll stop to lend a hand. There used to be more, but it must be my routes that they are not on.

[Diesel2NR]

When I come across someone who's stranded with their car, I usually stop to help out, even if all I can do is give them a ride to a gas station to get some gas or to make a call. I've helped this old man change his tire before. He offered me $20, but I didn't take it. I'd want the same help if I couldn't do it. I do take caution in this though, as here in the states, to may pull over the help someone who REALLY isn't broken down and someone might jump out of the ditch and take your car and money after beating the hell out of you. Not too uncommon in WV at least. This problem happens a lot to truck drivers too. I don't pick up your average hitchhiker though. Not only is it illegal in WV, there are just too many wackos out there.

[SilverLotus340R]

ive never picked one up and i never would. There are jst too many wierd people out. I mean even if they did offer money i would never stop. Is your life really worth 10 bucks? 20 bucks? i mean mr. T has obviously had some good experiences but in the states i dont think anyone can be trusted too much. I have only stopped (with my parents) to help people out. We stopped when some car slide on ice and flipped over. And like 94 GT said some old guy was in a Navigator and was trying to get he spare out from under it (bad place to put a full size spare) and it took three of us to get it down without crushing someones cranium

[darkness]

I've never picked up a hitch-hiker

But I've seen a fair few female ones that almost made me change my mind.

[boingo82]

When my I, my mom, and my two brothers (age 18) were driving to Washington, we passed a hitchhiker. We were driving out of Ely, Nevada, a teensy veritable hell-hole in the middle of nowhere. There was a hitchhiker on the side of the road, sign saying "Reno" which was exactly where we were going. He had a bunch of dreadlocked hair, a jamaican-looking hat, and baggy clothes. His face looked friendly.

I drove past him. I watched in the rearview as he kicked the dirt and then threw his sign, then sat down and put his face to his hands like he was going to cry. I wanted to cry all day then, and I want to cry now thinking about it. We had a big, spacious Dodge Grand Caravan with 4 empty seats, and we were probably the first car he'd seen in an hour. But I, at 5'5 and 125 lbs, and my mom the same size, are woefully unequipped to defend ourselves. My brothers wouldn't have been any good either. They're about 6 feet each and 135 lbs..none of it muscle. No one in my family is the least bit of a fighter, and most of us can't do more than 1 pushup.

I think about that hitchhiker a lot. He looked friendly, and he looked like he had some good stories to tell. Sometimes I wish we would've picked him up. I feel awful that we didn't. However, in the circumstances we weren't prepared to take that risk. We weren't armed with anything more than Swiss army keychain/screwdriver/pocketknife combos, and we were in the Nevada desert about 200 miles from real civilization in all directions.


I've passed quite a few hitchhikers since then, none that I felt as bad about. As a fairly small female I don't think it a reasonable option for me to pick any of them up. Females are in general much smaller and weaker than males, putting them at greater risk for sex crimes and murder...I wish it wasn't this way. I wish we didn't have to worry about the worst element of society.


I want to add: We did, however, stop on the way back from that trip, in the middle of Boise, because I saw a truck suddenly veer off the freeway and start driving in the weeds on the side. The driver, an elderly male, refused medical attention. His wife, who was sitting next to him, said he had "just blacked out for a second". When we passed their truck he had been slumped over. It was scary. The couple didn't seem worried and didn't seem to think the man needed medical help. That was the scariest part. What if they had veered off the road just a mile ahead and hit the overpass?? What if they veered off in a residential district and hit some kids??

[Oz]

Originally posted by boingo82
When my I, my mom, and my two brothers (age 18) were driving to Washington, we passed a hitchhiker. We were driving out of Ely, Nevada, a teensy veritable hell-hole in the middle of nowhere. There was a hitchhiker on the side of the road, sign saying "Reno" which was exactly where we were going. He had a bunch of dreadlocked hair, a jamaican-looking hat, and baggy clothes. His face looked friendly.

I drove past him. I watched in the rearview as he kicked the dirt and then threw his sign, then sat down and put his face to his hands like he was going to cry. I wanted to cry all day then, and I want to cry now thinking about it. We had a big, spacious Dodge Grand Caravan with 4 empty seats, and we were probably the first car he'd seen in an hour. But I, at 5'5 and 125 lbs, and my mom the same size, are woefully unequipped to defend ourselves. My brothers wouldn't have been any good either. They're about 6 feet each and 135 lbs..none of it muscle. No one in my family is the least bit of a fighter, and most of us can't do more than 1 pushup.

I think about that hitchhiker a lot. He looked friendly, and he looked like he had some good stories to tell. Sometimes I wish we would've picked him up. I feel awful that we didn't. However, in the circumstances we weren't prepared to take that risk. We weren't armed with anything more than Swiss army keychain/screwdriver/pocketknife combos, and we were in the Nevada desert about 200 miles from real civilization in all directions.


I've passed quite a few hitchhikers since then, none that I felt as bad about. As a fairly small female I don't think it a reasonable option for me to pick any of them up. Females are in general much smaller and weaker than males, putting them at greater risk for sex crimes and murder...I wish it wasn't this way. I wish we didn't have to worry about the worst element of society.


I want to add: We did, however, stop on the way back from that trip, in the middle of Boise, because I saw a truck suddenly veer off the freeway and start driving in the weeds on the side. The driver, an elderly male, refused medical attention. His wife, who was sitting next to him, said he had "just blacked out for a second". When we passed their truck he had been slumped over. It was scary. The couple didn't seem worried and didn't seem to think the man needed medical help. That was the scariest part. What if they had veered off the road just a mile ahead and hit the overpass?? What if they veered off in a residential district and hit some kids??

That really touched me, Em. One of the most sensitive insightful pieces I have ever seen on the human condition in modern society. If I'm ever dieing, I want you by my side.