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I would NOT do it. I have never done it in the US.
I have only accepted two rides in my life and it was in rural Italy. On both occasions, I was walking down rural roads to reach locations that were sparsely served by buses, and locals pulled over, rolled down the window, and asked me if they could get me closer to my destination. Since I could speak to them in the local language, I could really see that there was nothing "off" about the situation and accepted the ride. Otherwise, I would have walked 5 miles in the summer heat.
i actually did. Hitchhiked from Chicago to California. Got a ride to Chi-town
And it was pretty safe, no troubles, met a lot of interesting people, and I got here fairly quickly.
Mainly used truckers and one old lady with a car full of cats.
Hitchhiking in 2012 IS safe. Because I DID IT!!!!!!
i actually did. Hitchhiked from Chicago to California. Got a ride to Chi-town
And it was pretty safe, no troubles, met a lot of interesting people, and I got here fairly quickly.
Mainly used truckers and one old lady with a car full of cats.
Hitchhiking in 2012 IS safe. Because I DID IT!!!!!!
Good for you! I wouldn't generalize "safe" on a sample size of one trip, but that's quibbling.
I skimmed the earlier posts, and while I agree that it's not the safest form of transportation, I disagree with many of the posts that said, essentially, the world's full of psychopaths looking for prey and why would you want to travel with strangers in the first place?
When I was in college in the early/mid 70's I worked during the summers and always allocated a couple of weeks for hitching trips (tweaking an ad slogan from that era, I was "seeing the USA in someone else's Chevrolet"). For reference: I'm white, average height and build (i.e., I don't look like a victim, nor do I look threatening), and I'm male. When I finished grad school, I took most of the summer off, hitching from Chapel Hill, NC to San Diego, up the coast to Vancouver, then across Canada to Newfoundland. I'm 60 now, and still regard that summer as the best of my life.
Echoing the OP, these trips put me in contact with an amazing variety of interesting people that I'd have never come in contact with had I been leading my "regular" life. Sure, some of them were a bit "off," but not in a dangerous way (there are ways to evaluate people who offer you rides, and ways to politely decline). And aside from seeing 1,000s of miles of North America for free, I heard an incredible number of people's stories. A lot of times you get picked up simply because people like to talk - to tell their tales and to hear yours.
You have to be in the hitching mindset in order to make it a positive experience. Part of this is being sensitive to potentially dangerous situations (don't hitch at night, know the highly varied state laws about where/if you can hitch, try to take rides where there's only the driver, deflect conversation if the driver starts on a rant, etc.). Accept the fact that there are going to be places where you're going to be stuck for hours or just have to walk through - don't look at hitching as the somewhat-slower-than-a-bus alternative. The other, key, part of the mindset is being ready and eager to have a couple of hour glimpse into a lot of other people's lives. Done right, it fuels happy memories for years.
And now, in 2012: the hearing other people's stories thing stuck with me. Being a programmer and working from home is socially isolating. I'm not going to walk onto the streets of Philly and start bumming rides at random, but I do scratch the "hear stories" itch by delivering for Meals on Wheels. This and other volunteer work drags me out of my insular little world and has the "wow! people lead amazing/hard/fulfilling/interesting lives" factor that I've grown to crave.
I would greatly appreciate informative answers. But I am seriously considering hitchhiking (from NJ to California---with dozens of stops along the way.) The reasoning behind it are irrelevant. But I've collected friends from Minnesota, Denver, Utah, LA, etc. and would have been giving hitchhiking some serious thought.
But in the year 2012, is it really that dangerous?
I've known people who had done it, and their stories seem to not be so horrific.
Like, it wasn't like someone was chasing them with a chainsaw. (I'm being sarcastic, but you get what I mean.)
Has anyone hitchhiked or know someone who has in the 2000s??
Interested in hearing all your stories. I'll chime in from time to tome as well.
Thanks ya'll!!!
My uncle hitch hiked from NY to FL and back in the 70s and said it was a great experience.
But I've heard way too many horror stories than successful completions and with that I think I need to advise you not to do it.
How can you really be comfortable putting your freedom within a stranger? The moment you buckle up in their car, your mobility is very limited. And there seems to be a lot of whackos out there today.
I agree. You were lucky. Try making it a habit and you probably will be starring in the next Chainsaw Massacre (exaggerating of course but still lol). Hitchhiking in 2012 is no more safe than leaving your door wide open at night. Anyone can claim that did it without any trouble, but how long will that last. I see enough stuff on a regular basis to not put myself in more danger than I have to be in. Hell, sometimes I have a hard enough time avoiding dangerous situations, let alone looking for them. You probably don't realize how much of a target you are, mostly in larger cities though. I know some low lives that go around looking for potential targets to rob and stuff all the time. It's sad but hitchhiking is like keeping your door unlocked and your first floor windows wide open at night. They might not break in the first couple of times, but make it a habit and you will find yourself in trouble. Just be careful. Your a risk taker and that's fine but keep in mind the horror stories that you may have heard about could also happen to you. The chances are not likely, that's probably the same thing those victims thought. Not trying to scare you just trying to warn you, it is no safe what so ever. The reason you probably don't hear as many stories now days are because most people now days aren't crazy enough to hitchhike/ pick up a hitchhiker.
Never. Why take the risk? Seriously. It is all nice and warm and fuzzy to try and help someone out, but there are ways to do that safely. Picking up someone you don't know is not one of those ways.
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