Motorist vs. hitchhikers; who is more afraid of whom?

Good question. You would think the hitchhiker would be more afraid. I hitchhiked from the central coast of California to Las Vegas, and though it was very eventful and a bit scary, I am more afraid to pick up a hitchhiker these days. Most of the people that picked me up when I hitchhiked were truckers. They are generally very nice people looking for a little conversation to help keep them awake.

I think both have ample reason to be afraid of each other. Don’t hitchhike, if you’re a woman for god’s sake don’t hitchhike and don’t pick up hitchhikers, better for everyone. Maybe truckers still pick up hitchhikers, they may have a second sense about it, who knows. I learned those lessons a long time ago, painful lessons, and I don’t intend to relearn them. It could very well work out but why go asking for trouble? The world is dangerous enough sometimes. It’s a shame too, I had a couple of great hitchhiking adventures in my youth but it’s not a Jack Kerouac novel out there, kids.

I hitchhiked when I was a teenager. I was never afraid but that was a different time period. I would not hitch now unless it was dire circumstances. Both driver and hitchhiker have reason to be afraid.

Watch the old movie Hitcher with Rutgar Hauer. I say both afraid, though.

@faye great movie! I’ve watched it at least 25 times, at least. srsly

Why just yesterday I saw a hitchhiker and I thought to myself ‘gee, its been years since I saw a real live hitch hiker.’ I don’t know why I thought people didn’t do that anymore. :/

It seems that people nowadays are so paranoid about hitchhikers that I think that the motorists are actually scarier than most of the people on the side of the road.

Which do you find scarier; some guy just trying to avoid a 20 mile walk, or some person who has such a callous disregard for humanity that they would rather let someone die of hypothermia than risk getting a water stain on their passenger’s seat?

One thing to remember is that the driver is in control. Most hitchhikers are actually decent people, and nobody in their right mind will harm the driver of a speeding car. Most people do not like being in car accidents and thus will not cause one. If a hitchhiker pulls a weapon and you don’t give in then they will also be injured when you slam into something at high speed, so it’s only a concern if you are utterly spineless.

That cuts both ways too. If you can’t take care of yourself then not only should you not be hitching, you probably should not be out alone ever, especially not if you live in a city. But most people who are willing ot pick up a hitcher are nice, somewhat altruistic folks and those that are psycho are generally easily spotted before you even get in the car.

@jerv One thing to remember is that the driver is in control. That is what I thought. If I picked up some one to be a good Samaritan and that person tried something I can gun it. Eventually a cop would get on our tail and the jig would be up for the wouldbe crook. I know it isn’t like the movies where he can shoot me then bail from the car at high speed and not get hurt, but still I know more people who are terrified of anyone seeking a lift even if it is clear it is an emergency.

People are paranoid now adays. It is possible that you’ll pick up a killer and it is possible that a killer will pick you up. But it’s a lot more likely that you’ll be picked up by someone with a little empathy or pick up someone that doesn’t look homeless.

It’s sad how suspicious everyone is of each other. Hitch hikers are no more dangerous than they ever were by common sense. The same goes for drivers. It’s like saying how teenagers are so different than they used to be, while that’s been the thoughts of many generations.

Aren’t drugs a little more attainable and a little different from the weed and acid of the 60’s-70’s? Our drugs were the happier kind from what I read. Most of you lock your doors, your cars, some have safes in your houses. I think it is a more dangerous world today. The teenagers i have knowledge of are mostly good kids just like the olden days.

@faye No. Baby Boomers were actually a pretty crazy and dangerous group of kids.

@kenmc Dangerous? Plus aren’t babyboomers the group born in the 40’s after the war? Because they liked Elvis?

@faye Oh, it was totally because of Elvis~

I’m afraid of hikers, but then I have a phobia of thumbs…....or I may be thinking of thumbthing elthe!! :¬)

I often pick up ‘kids’ in my river rafting community hitching a ride back to their cars to pick up their raft and rafting pals.

I have never had a bad experience, and call me a Pollyanna if you will, but…I just don’t EXPECT a negative situation and I have never encountered one yet.

Usually have great conversations and laughs.

My daughter and I picked up a guy & girl couple hitchhiking to their Couchsurfers host in Eureka last year, had a blast for several hours.

She was from Indiana and he was from somewhere I had never heard of in Europe.

Detoured through the Redwoods and she sent me a hand dyed silk scarf she made as a Thank-You. :-)

@kenmc Unlike my baby-boomer stepdad, I would never stand up in the passengers seat of a convertible at 70MPH (in a 35 zone) and take a piss. And this being 2010, I don’t think I’d be talking my way out of the ticket if I did, so I have to agree with you.

I think part of the reason I don’t run into problems with hitchhikers is that I scare them a little bit. I don’t always shave, and I am usually in a beat up looking car (my current one having a huge skull on the hood) so I often look rather shady. The last person I gave a ride said she had some reservations at first about getting into a skull-car with someone who looked like a drifter, but we had a great conversation and some laughs as we were stuck in SR99 traffic. And when my mother and I hitched to Boston one time, we had a blast with a couple of hippies in an old van. Even got sandwiches out of that ride!

Appearances can be deceiving, and my experience is that the people who most people are scared of are often actually nicer than most of the “normal looking” people.

The driver is clearly more vulnerable to attack than the hitchhiker.

@Paradox I don’t think it’s really that clear at all. Both the driver and the hitchhiker are vulnerable depending on which one might intend on doing the other harm.