Do you/ Would you pick up a hitchhiker?

[SemiCharmedQuark]

I can't...too many weirdo stories. But my FIL gets around his country (Britain) by hitchhiking and relies on it. I hear stories about people that rely on it. So I guess it still is done.

[napi21]

1. The only hitchhiker I ever picked up was someone I knew.

That attitude goes back more than 30 years. I think it was done a lot more years ago, but I've always been a bit cautious.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

11. Back then,

I hitchhiked everywhere, either with a guy or by myself, and nothing bad ever happened to me.

Today, it's not safe. It's just not safe. For anyone.

[MrModerate]

2. Depends where you are . . .

I'd never do it in the States . . . weirdo quotient too high. (However, in the SF Bay area there are semi-official pickup zones for commuters -- so you can get across the Bay Bridge without going through the toll lane).

But here in Cluj, where almost no college students have cars, it's common practice to pick them up on the way out of town. They stand by the side of the road at key intersections with signs indicating their destination. Good opportunity to practice your Romanian while they practice their English.

[Wickerman]

3. I did in the early 80's

and hitchhiked thru Europe aroudn the same time, but no more.

[cestpaspossible]

4. Yeah, cuz I used to hitchhike for years.

So now it's my turn to drive.

[dhinojosa]

5. Only if it's two hot girls kissing waving their thumbs up....

but then again come think of it, my girlfriend would have a problem with it.

[Strawman]

6. 7 Minute Abs!

Remember the hitchhiker in There's Something About Mary? I love that guy, Harland Whatever-the-hell-his-name-is.

[Droopy]

7. I have a few times in the past

When I was driving as an over the road trucker. The last hitchhiker I picked up was about 2 years ago. I gave him a ride from just north of Columbus, Ohio to Cleveland, Ohio. I never had any problem with any of the hitchhikers I gave rides.

[Redstone]

8. Any time I see one.

But I'm over 6 feet tall and male.

If you have ANY reason to feel that you shouldn't pick up a hitchhiker, by all means don't do it.

There's no shame at all in being prudently cautious.

Redstone

[LeftyMom]

9. no way

I'm a small woman and usually have a kid in the car, and we have way too many crazy tweekers around here to even consider such a dumb thing. I'd give somebody a couple bucks for the bus though, if I had any to spare.

[Ladyhawk]

10. I have on a few occasions when I just knew the people were OK.

Maybe 3-5 times in my life.

[carpetbagger]

12. I would not, could not in a car.

If it were something that people did often, like they used to, I'd probably think differently. But most of the hitchhikers I've seen in the last 10 years have looked precisely like the kind of people who have come up to me on the street with some type of proposal and then gotten pretty damn threatening when I lack interest. Not a scene I'd like to have in my car. It's been so long since I've seen anyone who looked either cleanish or under 21 hitching, that I probably would think they're up to something.

[tibbir]

13. I wouldn't dare. Too dangerous.

[bif]

14. Only if she was cute, 13 and...

my daughter. then I'd give her a good tongue lashing for even considering doing it!

[Blue_In_AK]

15. I used to hitchhike all the time in CA in the early '70s...

I didn't even own a car from 1969 to 1975, so mass transit and my thumb were the only ways I could get around. Sometimes now I'll give rides to girls or women, but I won't pick up guys ... especially here in Alaska where, as the saying goes, "the odds are good, but the goods are odd."