Why doesn't anybody hitchhike anymore?

I think you answered your own question..... hitchhikers don't want to get murdered by weirdo's that pick them up, and drivers don't want to murdered by weirdo's that they pick up. I think it's known as a Mexican Stand Off....... or common sense.

Nope. I hitched a ride from school from friends. Never, ever with strangers.

You may find yourself scattered across half the Continent?

In a big country like Oz...with a small population.....it was common to hitch....but that was before the days of back-packer murders, etc...

I was reading an article about hitchhiking and a lost national past time and I was thinking to myself

Say what?

Even as a kid I never understood the sense of doing that. If you got allot of miles between you and your destination you better have a bike.

I road half of Long Island on a bike in a hour... well maybe a quarter.

I think the answer is that like many things in life, we've got a dispropotionate sense of how dangerous something is from seeing sensationalist media on it.

The fact is that you're more likely to die while travelling in a car crash (or bike etc) than you ever would be of being killed by some mad axe man. You're probably more likely to be killed by lightning while waiting for a lift! (I've not checked the stats on that though).

I've given lifts to a number of hitchhikers over the years and they've all been pretty nice people.

Its similar to the way some people are scared to travel by plane in case of a crash, but will happily drive for long distances....or the panic over BSE....and (to some extent) crime and even terrorism. (that's not arguing that we can ignore any of these things - just that a lot of people have a dispropotionate sense of fear compared to the actual risk)

More people die playing golf than are taken by sharks, etc.....and it serves them right for such bad dress-sense...

and it serves them right for such bad dress-sense

The golfers or the sharks?

Well... I guess I should go hitch hiking then.


I still won't do it dispite the statistical probability of being hurt. Its just wierd!

I have always found it wierd. I didn't quite understand why some people liked it.
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joetheblow - imagine if you didn't have a car and didn't have the money to pay for a train/bus ride, but that you wanted to see the world...There's a wanderlust in many people that's hard to ignore, and hitch-hiking is a way to satisfy that for little/no cost.

I have a friend who used to travel everywhere hitching. She only really stopped when she could afford her own car.

It's also a better way to really experience the travel rather than just getting from A to B as you'd end up seeing all sorts of bits along the way which would otherwise just be a blur through the window.

I've never done it myself, but I can see the appeal

I've thought about hitchhiking across canada. I figure I could take my guitars with me, and earn money in towns to pay a little for my rides.

CerebroJD - sounds like a great idea...just one tip though, you might want to make that "guitar" not "guitars" if you're hitching

Fresh out of Army AIT at Ft. Knox, KY, I had to hitchhike the last 200 miles home as my "ride" decided to take another route so as a result some pervert picked me up and in 50 miles decided I had to "pay" for the lift as he began to grope my leg. Military reflexes shoved my elbow into his jaw and I heard a loud pop. He quickly pulled over and before things got real ugly, I grabbed my gear and bolted.

But then some nice old couple picked me up and took me within 10 miles of my destination.

I never hitchiked again.

i don't think they're are many people who drive interstate highways just looking for people to hack up. adversely though, i wouldn't pick up a guy i didn't think i could kick right out the door.

In my wild youth, I picked up a few hitchhikers on the freeway. I had a flashy red convertible sports car. But, they never gave me any trouble. Probably because I was more crazy than they were at the time. Needless to say, the world has become more crazy and I have mellowed considerably. So, I don't do that anymore.

"guitar" not "guitars"

Gotcha!

i wouldn't pick up a guy i didn't think i could kick right out the door

Note to self: Beware of DesignCaddy.

I hitched across the States two times, with no trouble... 'course that was in 1960. Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road had a lot to do with it. After a decade of Cold War and McCarthy, the hippie generation began first by moving onto the road, in the late 50's and early '60's. We had blind faith in each other. Anyone under 30 was safe, and worthy of respect. That lasted until 1969 and Altamont.

So... Im the oldest person here, probably by a decade

Nope... still won't do it. Just seems strange to me... maybe because I not from that era. I can understand a local town and everybody knows everybody else in some way, but across states or borders??? Not my tush.

it does sound romantic from what some of you guys say but I don't think i would do it.

(I have been know to jump on the back of a truck in my youth... but it was for one block)

ya. jack did it so thats what makes me believe a lot of other people just want to travel and not give people trouble. but you never know...

I would have freaked if my kids ever hitch hiked and they are well grown now... everything's changed.

/me wonders just how old fIvE sPiDeRz really is...if he's a decade older than 'anyone'....
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Unfortunately most States have a law stopping people from "hitching" a ride, or at least trying to get one. I used to give rides all the time, owing to the fact I had a pickup, and it was easy to keep myself seperated, from the rider. Now I don't give rides, unless the person is carrying a gas can or something. I just don't travel that far anymore. My radius of travel has shrunk consderably. I am lucky if it is 30 miles in a week. I grew up listening to the Travelling Man, stories of my Father.
He was a Navy, Man from the 60's as well as a Guitarist, and according to his stories, that was the time to Travel. Haight Ashbury, travelling accross the Desert, getting stuck in snow storms, and Rock hounding in places that are now, Freeways' and Parking Lots.

I used to hitchhike all the time. I think it's a matter of saavy and common sense. Don't accept the ride if you feel uncomfortable.

On the other hand, I've met some interesting people and gotten places I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. Memorable examples are a spring break in Washington's San Juan Islands, hitching from ferries to campsites and back and touring Nat'l Parks in Utah, hitching rides between. Also used to often hitch to and from work, when working hours that buses didn't run.

One downside is the common belief that a hitcher is not actually someone in need of a ride, but actually "looking for a good time" Had a couple misunderstandings of that vein. Biggest problem I ever had, though, was with the police - certain municipalities are less friendly to folks just passing through.

I wouldn't hesitate, even today, to try and hitch a ride if the need arose. But I am male, and confident of my own safety. I understand how folks wouldn't themselves hitch or pick up riders.

I used to hitchhike back during the 60's & 70's, but we didn't have to worry to much about nut cases wanting to murder us or anything back then. Wasn't a regular thing, but if I needed to get somewhere and didn't have a car or a buddy handy it wasn't ever a problem. But...I wouldn't recommend it now in this day and age.

but we didn't have to worry to much about nut cases wanting to murder us or anything back then

...do you really think things have changed? As far as I'm aware, the murder rate per 1000 etc hasn't changed that much (at least, not in rural areas - cities figures do tend to be skewed because of other crimes/drug related deaths)...but what has changed a lot is the public's perception of these risks.