Hitch hiking

[Cliphead]

Many years ago the younger and more naive Cliphead would get fed up with whatever boring job I was treading water in and pack a rucksack and just bugger off to the nearest motorway. No clear destination was just happy to go wherever the driver was going and see where I ended up.

Met some very interesting people, met people who became friends, saw places I didn't think I would see and generally had a great time. A very few dodgy experiences but handled easily.

Got a lift in a Rolls Royce, a lift all the way from Barcelona to Glasgow including a free ferry ride, same on a trip back from Ireland by entertaining the crew with country songs, even got a job. It really was almost a lifestyle.

The few times I travel on the motorways I never see hitch hikers, what's changed?

[doodab]

These days everybody lives in fear. Too scared to hitch, too scared to pick people up and too scared to talk to their neighbors.

Very sad.

[minestrone]

You do not have to hitch anymore, with our superior transport system at a low cost to the consumer it has become outdated.

Hitching was the best way to get round Arran and you would not get more than a few cars passing you by before a lift was offered, media has scared the life out of that now, everyone thinks the worst of strangers now.

[wim121]

These days everybody lives in fear. Too scared to hitch, too scared to pick people up and too scared to talk to their neighbors.

Very sad.

You do not have to hitch anymore, with our superior transport system at a low cost to the consumer it has become outdated.

Hitching was the best way to get round Arran and you would not get more than a few cars passing you by before a lift was offered, media has scared the life out of that now, everyone thinks the worst of strangers now.

Yes, thanks to labour and morons like Harman, every single man is a potential rapist or murderer.

[norrahe]

Exactly.

And everyone has watched "The Hitcher"*.



*The original with Rutger "Roy Batty" Hauer rather than the remake of course.

I blame Rutger Hauer

[Sysman]

The few times I travel on the motorways I never see hitch hikers, what's changed?

Insurance.

I gather that a lot of truck companies instruct their drivers not to pick up hitch hikers because non-employee passengers aren't insured.

I still see a bit of it on the mainland. In fact I've just remembered that my gf of 10 years ago missed her plane home from Greece, so got the boat to Brindisi and hitched back from there. She did speak Italian, mind.

[Pondlife]

I blame megabus.

If you have enough notice you can get halfway across the country for a couple of quid.

If you have to be somewhere by a certain time on a certain date within the next few days then public transport in this country is god-awful & expensive. If you have the luxury of time and don't mind hanging about it can be quite cheap (apparently. I wouldn't know because I am a contractor)

[EternalOptimist]

I heard about a hippy with a bit of cardboard with BATH scrawled on it. Someone drove past and threw a bar of soap out of the window at him

[TimberWolf]

I only did it twice as a teenager, IIRC. Once in the UK to get to my weekend job when my motorbike was broken, and once in Portugal during an Inter-rail trip.

Perhaps if cars were taxed based on car occupancy level, hitch-hikers would become a sought out commodity and supply would increase to meet demand.

[lukemg]

Only did this once, in France needed to get from the m'way to the coast to meet some mates. Had a mate with me so not as dodgy. Jumped off the coach which was heading for the uk about half way up france started walking and got out the magic thumb. It was 4am. 8 hours later we had no joy until a Renault 5 Turbo stopped. Yippee I thought till I smelt the alcohol as soon as the door opened. I was game but mate pulled me back out. Eventually 2 very large lads in a van stopped and we had a right laugh as the banter in half french and half anglais was exchanged.
Think it was optimistic for 2 lads to get many lifts !