Is a hitch - hiker a potential danger to you?

We do not have a culturally acceptable hitch hiker. People are afraid of hitchhikers, and likewise, hitchhikers are wary of the type of ride they take. What you describe is more like neighborliness, and I hope your part of the world continues that way a long long time.

Here in Australia, we are always careful of hitch hikers & those hitch hiking (the harmless ones) are careful of those picking them up...there are so many sick people out there that you just don't pick up hitch hikers - well I don't anyway as the bad ones seem to prey on females.

30 odd years ago I used to give everyone a ride as here was a lack of transportation. In those days I also used to give tourists a ride but I stopped that as we went through a period of car searches and if anyone had an illegal substance on them, then I too would be languishing in a jail. so I said to myself. I said: You can sod that for a lark - and so I stopped as they invariably had wacky baccy on them.

Unfortunately, Thea, here in the US, we dare not trust hitch-hikers, unless it is someone we know. People have been robbed, raped, or killed for such kindnesses. It wasn't always that way, but it sure is now. Sad, really. Karen

i guess it is mostly a safe thing to do. this is a more common practice in small cities where people are more friendly and of helping nature. but in big cities i don't think this is a common practice. people just seem to busy and in a rush to care for others. i have done that several times and didn't have a problem with that. even though i have not been able to make friends with anyone of them...

I have not tried picking up some random hich hikers my self. But i once picked some hitch hiker that I really can say that they are in distress.. They asked for a ride. a 2 km ride and thats it.. That was my first time though. It was nice helping people but it's not really good to actually trust them in an instant... Thas my opinion

too dangerous here. i hate to broad analyse like that,but i knew someone who was almost strangled by someone she gave a ride to. i'd have to know the person before i'd give them a ride.

Here in Sg, hitch-hiking is not a common thing at all, Thea. As for your story there, you were so kind, Thea to give the elderly gentleman a lift. That's something that I rarely see here, perhaps because of the busy city life and it's not really something like a common sight here.

hi thea well back in the state in which I was born and grew up yes we picked up hitch-hikers as we all knew just about everyone and because if theywere hiking their vehicle was probably not working as it was mostly farm country and everyone had at least on pickup or truck plus the family car. Nobody ever turned anyone down but those were much simpler times. Now probably they are more careful whom they pickup. but here in Southern California its not too smart to pick up a hitch-hiker unless you can tell they are innocent of any wrongdoing. but in tustin where I used to live I was waiting and waiting for a cab to take me home and this young man asked me where I lived which was just up Newport ave about 12 blocks but I no longer could walk that far. so he said get in, I used to know some people who lived in your apartment complex. so I accepted his ride and got home without any problems at all. another time I was waiting for a bus and it started to rain. a nice young man in one of those huge SUV's came along and insisted on giving me a ride to Larwin Square, he told me he was married to rather famous pastor's daughter. I accepted with much gratitude as it started to pour. so some rides are okay as I am a white haired elderly woman who would not harm a flea ,oh no I might squash the flea but not hurt anyone else. he he.

Yaddou niece, i wish u would be more careful about picking up fpls. I know there must be bad people in greece to. Hitchiking use to be something u saw alot of here but not anymore. I believe it's againist the law now. there's no way i would pick up anybody unless i knew them then i might think twice about that. we do have bad people here.

Oh, here one couldn't pick up a hitch-hiker as they are more than likely not safe. Probably not the ax murderer but, possibly a car jacker or some other type of problem person.

It is against the law here to hitch hike so we do not see to many anymore. If I see someone I know then I will pick them up but if I do not know them then I will not anymore it can be dangerous to pickup people you do not know. It is a shame that it has come to this and people are afraid to help out others because some people are dangerous.

I've always been too scared to stop for hitch hikers, then I worry for ages afterwards that they were probably perfectly nice, and now some mad, psychotic murdering truck driver has picked the poor soul up to carry them away to an untimely and horrific end! I'd consider stopping for another female, but with guys I'd always think twice. I've just remembered - my Dad picked up an Irish hitch hiker in his work van, the guy wanted to get to the train station in our town, but hadn't eaten in over a day, so my dad said to come to his work to get some breakfast. Then he and his workmates decided to chip in and pay his trainfare. So he sat in the work, and had toast, and tea, several helpings, then my dad nipped to the loo before dropping him at the train station. He came back, and the guy wasn't there - but his car keys were gone. He looked out the window, and the guy was making off in his car! Lol! The police got him before he left the town, but talk about biting the hand that feeds you!

...Hi thea, First of all you are very nice to offer a ride to the man, next of all you are courageous to have offered him a ride the first time. I guess if the crime rate is low and most of the people in the neighborhood are friendly, picking up a hitchhiker may not be so scary. I once reversed it, I was waiting for a bus and a guy stopped and offered me a ride, he wanted to take me out for a drink which I refused, and he let me get out of the car without a problem. I thought afterward it wasn't a smart thing to do as a woman. Go over, if you would to www.authspot.com/writers/quiet+voice.8137 and read "Red Rodeo in Texas", it's a short story I wrote about a hitchhiker with an interesting ending. Thanks, take care.

It's illegal here to hitch hike.....so there aren't many who try it.....and I would never pick anyone up being alone by myself...it's too dangerous.

Hi, the09. It is a very generous offer, but this can be extremely dangerous. In my town, I don't offer rides to hitchhikers. I don't take any chances when it comes to that. If I know you well, like say you are a friend or a trusted family member, I may offer you a ride. Other than that, I am weigh too cautious when it comes to something like this. I know someone told me a story some years back about a man offering someone a ride. They said that he was being generous and that the person robbed him and killed him. It happened in this state, but just in another county. I thought that this was scary.. When I heard this, I was very skeptical about getting in someones ride or letting others take me places by offering me a ride instead. Yesterday, I met this 19 year old girl at The Health Department. She offered to take me home because she knew that I had been waiting a while for my ride. Her mom offered to drive me home because she saw me and my kids sitting outside, and it was cold. I declined the ride, because I had a couple of places that I needed to go. So, I told her no thank you.. Some people are very friendly when it comes to offering rides to strangers. There have been a few times where I was stuck and I did not have a way home. And I needed a ride and I asked this couple to take me to a destination. They could not do it because they had a car full of their own kids. So, to be honest with you, I can't see how someone would be willing to pick up a stranger. These days you just never know.. Someone can be normal at first and then they can turn around and be a killer behind the mask. Hitchhiking can be dangerous for the person needing the ride or the person giving the ride. I just hope that I am not placed in either or of these two situations. It can be safe and then again it could cost someone their life.

I am a little leery of total strangers but I live in a small town in the middle of farm country and it's nothing to see a farmer walking down the side of the highway because his tractor quit working or got stuck. Depending on the person sometimes I'll stop and offer a ride into town or to the nearest farm. We have a cheese plant in the closest town and it's nothing for me to stop and visit my husband at work and give one of the driver's a ride to the local cafe or convenience store instead of making them walk all the way across town.

Hi thea, though the fear lurks, but we too behave like good samaritans many times. :) I remember there was a muslim lady and her daughter. They'd arrived from another city. She was dropped some place. She was keen to extend the friendship, but it felt kind of odd to do so. Not because of the religion, I dont believe in differentiating based on religion at all. It was because it seemed odd to start a friendship that way. :) That too because we'd enjoyed the ride as much. :) Another student we gave lift to a couple of months ago, he felt so touched and was so keen to get off the car - you can drop me here - kind of thing. Well, we dropped him somewhere where he could get other transport. We were returning from some place out of the city. :) So we do pick people on our way if we can. :) But as I said before, it is a dangerous thing to do.

Hi Thea, as most of your US responders replied, hitch hiking is not the legal and picking one up usually is something akin to putting a sign on your forehead - rob me or worst. Although I am sure there are parts in the States that are still friendly enough to pick up hitch hikers without too much worry as long as one felt safe but where I am, I would be most hesitant to do so. I do recall one time when I was in Baltimore, Maryland and we left a huge event, the traffic was horrible and the cabs were crazy full and we couldn't get anywhere and we started walking back to the hotel, it was like many miles away, but we were hoping we would find a cab further away from the hoopla when a woman pulled up along side of us and asked where we were going. We were not "thumbing it" but must have looked like we were looking for a cab. My guy offered her money to take us to the hotel (about the same as a cab ride) and she agreed. I was horrified! I did get in the car but reluctantly, I wanted to wait for a "real" cab. And I thought she was crazy to just stop for anyone (I mean I do look pretty harmless and my guy looks clean cut and not strung out but still...)the entire time I berated (that's strong, I "counselled") her for being so reckless, and said things like what if my guy and I were crazy people and you are a young lady doing this, blah blah, safety issues, blah, blah and ended with the "does your mom know you do this? She laughed me off but then I said the opposite, and of course did what idiotic people do, asked if she was a serial killer (sometimes, the light is just not on in my head). I put myself in her position and thought this is crazy for her to do this especially in a city and I know I would not be able to pick hitch hikers up with the ease that she did. But all ended well, I elicited a patronizing promise to be careful (she was on her way back to pick others up to make extra money)and we got back to the hotel.

Some are dangerous some are not but for my own safety if I am a driver I will never stop to give them a free ride unless I know that person. Its dangerous they could be a car-jacker, serial killer etc.