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This morning, I had stopped at my pull over slot, a shoulder area to let the faster traffic get past me, when a hiker ran up behind me. First I saw him on the road before stopping, then in my mirrors, then at my open shotgun window. He asked for a ride to the main road, I told him to hop in the back, in the truck bed. Took him to that gas station, he got out, thanked me.....and hear I am, reporting to you.
Now, a thing or two to clarify. Riding with me in the crew cab would be impossible because my pickup is filled up for numerous trips in this festival season. Secondly......I travel with an HK USP in one handed ready next to me.
So, two things. First, does driving a pickup truck, of having that ability to have people in "economy class" and away from you, make us more friendly to offer a ride? Secondly, if one is giving such rides, what are the thoughts of having a ready blanket, either to hand out from the cab or in a box in the bed, to let them use or even have?
No. Not unless I know them and the distance is very short. Too much liability if they are safe people and too much danger if they have a screw loose.
If my neighbors or friends need a ride, I clear space in the cab for them, and they can wear their seat belt. If I don't know them, maybe someone else will stop for them and I hope whoever stops travels safely.
I don't think so. But I was just looking at my 10 year old F150and decided it needs a set of bull balls hanging from the trailer hitch. Oh, and naked lady mud flaps. Those should keep anyone from cadging a ride.
Hitch hiking here is almost non-existent now, mostly people under some sort of influence are the only ones who do it so, no.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I'm currently on my 4th pickup truck since the Ford Courier in 1973, and while I consider myself friendly, I have never offered a ride to a stranger. Of course that opportunity has never presented itself, no stranger has ever asked me for a ride.
Many people I know, especially relatives have asked for a ride for their furniture or other large items, and most of the time I have readily agreed to haul it for them. My truck has a back seat that seats 3 adults comfortably and I have taken family to the airport a few times.
Back in the day when I had a broken down car and hitched, almost ever ride I got was hippies in a VW bus, usually with 3rd and 4th gear shot so they could only go 35 mph. No one hitch hikes any more, so I don't know how that translates to today's drivers.
That's an interesting question. I've got a big ole 2006 Chevy 2500HD Duramax with the crew cab and I've yet to pick anyone up in it. I've used the truck to pull people's stuck cars from time to time, but never a hitch-hiker. Perhaps it's the 15mpg that makes me not want to stop or go too far out of my way. However, I've given a few free rides in our Tesla Model S and our tiny Fiat 500e. Coincidentally, I gave a guy in a suit a lift just this morning. It's odd to see someone dressed up in a suit walking around in suburban Orange County. Turns out he's here on business and opted to rely on rideshare instead of renting a car. A few years ago, we gave some people in a wedding party a lift to their venue since they had to park about 1.5 miles away. My wife and I were just driving to Malibu Wines and she said, "Pick em up." (She's a big Jim Carrey fan a la Dumb and Dumber)
As for driving a PU changing one's nature, I suppose it hasn't affected me but I'm not really a truck guy. Our Duramax was my late uncle's hunting truck that he used to haul his boat and hunting trailer across the country. I will say that I drive slower in the truck (the brakes really suck compared to our other cars) and it feels like cars cut in front of me with less space than when I'm driving our other cars...must be what big rig drivers go through all the time.
Whether I happen to be driving a PU or not makes not one whit of difference to my "nature". It has nothing to do with personal paranoia regarding total strangers. As for letting people (whether I know them or not) ride in the bed of a truck it isn't something I do unless I'm moving at an extremely low speed (like a parade or moving stuff across a parking lot) or away from public thoroughfares where lots of high speed hazards lurk. I don't even put my dog in the bed unless it's in a secured, solid sided transport crate. I am not in control of the world surrounding the truck. Heaven forbid something happen underway and my truck bed passenger is victimized by some projectile or becomes one themselves. The bed of the truck is for cargo. I consider passengers, passengers. They belong in the cabin. If the cabin is too full of my cr*p to hold a second person no one will be riding in it but me. Therefore, the question of a blankie is moot.
Last edited by Parnassia; 11-17-2023 at 02:33 PM..
Normally my answer would be that I don't pick up hitchhikers. With that said, while living in Colorado, I have a couple of times picked up a stranded motorist from beside the road in winter. Seems like every winter someone runs into a snowbank and dies out there. In those conditions, I can't in good conscience leave someone stranded out there.
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