I sometimes offer strangers lifts as long as I'm fairly close to home, and they don't look too menacing.
I'm a little bit more cautious than I used to be. I remember once offering a lift to a gent when driving in Romania. Daft thing to do, since I didn't know the language!
Interestingly enough, a few months ago, I was having a small job done at my car at my friendly independent. A lady was just dropping her car off, so he asked me if I could give her a lift into town - probably just half a mile or so. She looked respectable, so I was happy to oblige.
Edited by tyro on 07/01/2010 at 13:22
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Hikers used to be a good source of business when I was active on the A.1. especially at Scotch Corner, the junction of A.66/A1.
Young girls in lorries got special attention.
Checked out with our records procuced a good haul of AWOL, MFH, Wanted on Warrant, legging from crime in possession stolen property.
Happy memories.
dvd
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From mid-fifties to very early sixties I did a lot of hitching. Saved on train fares and put me on the road which was far more interesting. It could be gruelling or boring or embarrassing but was never alarming or threatening.
I haven't given anyone a lift for years though. You don't often see hitch hikers now. It's a different world.
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About a year ago was my last (and possibly my last as well..) - a scruffy, rough looking bloke - don't discriminate I said woodbines, he's probably salt of the earth type. Anyway, nothing much happened really - hardly managed to reply to my fairly neutral chat/banter & barely grunted any sort of thanks when I dropped him off.
Trouble is, because hitching is fairly uncommon these days, you've more chance of picking up someone who isn't quite the full ticket as a result.
Previous to the above was a chap I gave a lift to who boasted about how hard he was & how he'd had just got out of prison!
I might do it again - but circumstances & antennae would have to say 'alright' first.
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Living in the country you get a feel for who is a local in genuine need, and who is potential nutter. I've never given nor solicited lifts on main roads or in the urban jungle world.
But I've offered lifts to an old lady living alone struggling to walk 4 miles into town for her shopping, and my daughter gratefully accepted a lift the other day from a complete stranger, having been dropped 9 miles from home because the school bus couldn't get any further.
In normal times a 16-year old girl alone would be mad to accept a lift, but in a snowstorm, from a repectable farming couple in the only vehicle still on the road, things are different, and we trust her to make a sensible judgement.
(In another thread I said we were still waiting for any sign of snow. Within hours of making that rash statement we then had the most snow I have seen in 25 years in Wales, and we are cut off.)
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Used to hitch in the sixties as a student, the last time I got a lift was with a youngish guy in an A35 van.
"This will do 70 mph in second gear", said he, and promptly demonstrated this. I often wondered how long that engine lasted, it seemed like cruelty to machinery.
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You do get the occassional hitcher down here, and I've given a couple of lifts in the past few years. I tend to go on instinct and am a lot more wary than I used to be.
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I used to give lifts frequently in the 60s and 70s.
Have done it only twice in the past few years - to people who have broken down and wanted help.
Would still consider it as long as I was able to study the situation first.
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As I dropped daughter off at a station fifteen miles away away I overheard a conversation between a passenger (customer?) and railway staff asking how to get to my home town.
It would take two trains!
I gave him a lift. Not much in conversation, he was a Scottish, presbyterian teetotaller - not much like me! He tried to pay me. I suggested he took a dram instead - he wasn't impressed.
Other daughter 'phoned from a station about twenty miles away. All trains were stopping there. When I collected her it was chaos, people milling around all over the place. I suggested we offer the other three places in the car. She refused to let me, not wanting to share dad's car with total strangers (she'd just got off a train!). So much for the milk of human kindness.
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Back in the 60's I was a rep covering the North West from Aberystwyth to Carlisle. One Saturday lunchtime, after an area sales meeting, I picked up a car delivery driver as I was leaving Buxton on my way home to Merseyside. Decent chap and we had some good craic. About 6 weeks later I had been up to the Lake District and on my way home picked up another delivery driver - turned out to be the same bloke!!
One of several coincidences that I have experienced in a long and varied life.
Please file under 'Useless Information'.
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i used to hitch in the 70-80,s I remember hitching with a couple of school mates in 73 when the fuel crisis meant no heating at school so they sent us home ( home was a cardboard box in them days) we got picked up by some lorry driver with a load of sheep carcasses...it stunk to high heaven....then in the early 80s i was doing a course down in basildon and hitched at weekends to get back to the midlands ..i once got a lift at j21 M1 by the bishop of durham
and once going back from london by a drunk business man with no lights which was a bit scarey in the dark !!!
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I certainly would not give a lift to anyone who looked like Rutger Hauer.
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Snip - reason:
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=2&t=33...5
DD.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 08/01/2010 at 10:19
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I've just remembered another 'Useless Information' hitching story.
My son and his mate were hitching a lift from the start of the East Lancs Road to watch Liverpool play Arsenal in an FA Cup semi final replay at Villa Park. A large BMW stopped to offer them a lift. The driver was Emlyn Hughes!
For non footballing backroomers Hughes had been captain of Liverpool (and England) not all that long before but was not playing in the game that night.
They accepted the lift by the way!
Edited by Pugugly on 07/01/2010 at 21:43
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On our biking trip in September this year, me and a mate were stopping in Selvino in Italy. We were going to the F1 in Monza and as we did not want to go on the bikes, with all the protective kit on in the hot weather, we managed to cadge a lift from a couple of Dutch blokes who had hired a car and were F1 fanatics.
Unfortunately, they could not give us a lift back as they were going to Milan after the race.
So, after the race was over, we managed to get back to Nembro which is the town below Selvino by train and tram but as it was now getting quite late and dark, there was no transport up the mountain to Selvino.
So, we started to walk and every time we heard a vehicle, the thumb went out. Imagine the scene. Windy, windy road, pitch black and two blokes with there thumb stuck out, would you ?
Well after about half an hour and absolutely no luck it started to drizzle. About 6 or 7 cars had passed and no one stopped.
Another car approached, the thumbs went out, the headlight caught us, the car went passed, then stopped about 100 yards up the road. We ran up and although we spoke no Italian and the old Italian couple spoke no English, we manged to figure out that they were not going up the mountain to Selvino, but after a lot of "jabbering" the wife persuaded the husband to give us a lift and they took us right to our hotel.
We offered them 20 euros but they would not accept anything. To say we were grateful is an understatement.
If you look on Google Earth at the road between Nembro and Selvino and see how it winds up the mountain try and imagine it at night and in the rain.
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Spent a week walking in Turkey last spring. Only problem was the number of times cars stopped and offered me a lift! Turks don't understand why anybody would choose to walk for pleasure if they have a car!
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User to hitch a lot when I was a lad - once got transported by Jackie "TV" Pallo!
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