JFF- Have You Ever Picked up a Hitch Hiker?

My husband and I were in San Francisco with another couple and we gave a homeless woman a ride to a shelter once. This was before we had kids and I felt we had safety in numbers. Sadly it is a dangerous world out there but sometimes something calls out to you, ya know?

I'm too scared to stop. I feel AWFUL when I see someone on the side of the road, but it's usually myself and my son in the car. I'm rather petite and I just think we seem like the perfect target. Small woman all alone with her child. I just can't do it as bad as I feel. I'm too scared and I always end up thinking about what happened to Bill Cosby's son.

For all the people who are brave enough to stop and to help those who are really in trouble, I applaud you and I hope to see you if I ever need the kindness of a stranger. I hope I can pay it forward some other way. :-)

Numerous times I have pulled over, offered stranded/broken down motorists the use of my cell phone. (To call a ride, a tow truck, etc.)

I really don't see too many hitch hikers around anymore...so I think the beat on the street is IT'S DANGEROUS to be alone in a vehicle with a stranger...

I have been given a ride to a gas station the O. time in my life I ran out of gas (right after college) and for that, I was very grateful--it was raining.

I have picked up people many times.

I've even driven past someone because I didn't see them in time to stop and drove down to the next exit got back on the other side of the freeway and came back so I could help them.

I usually only stop when I hear a still small voice in my head, and I usually hear, "There, but for the grace of God go I."

I've helped numerous people and have never had a problem or felt I was in any danger. I remember a story of a man that was attacked and robbed and left for dead. A rich man passed him by not wanting to get involved. A preacher passed him by thinking he might be the next victim. Then a stranger, saw him, took pity on him and took him where he could get medical care and even paid for the care.

So I try and help when I can, especially when I am prompted to go and help. A friend in need is a friend in deed.

I was driving late at night on a two lane highway in ND last summer. My wife and I were on our way to visit our son and his wife. ND has some of the biggest pot holes I have ever seen on highways without flashing lights and barriers around them. It was rainy and the road was slick. I hit one of these pot holes and blew a left rear tire. I got out and walked over to the shoulder and found it was a new road with a new shoulder. When I stepped on the gravel shoulder my foot sunk up to the top of my shoe. So I pulled over as close to the shoulder as I could and got out to start changing my tire. After about 30 minutes of cars and trucks passing and blowing their horns a ND Highway Patrolman stopped and put on his lights. He could have stayed in his car, but he got out and unloaded my tire (and luggage) changed the tire in the rain. He told me to get back in my car and relax. When he finished and finished loading my old tire and luggage back into my trunk, he came to the window and wished me a safe trip the rest of the way. He even told me a better road to travel. THANK YOU again, OFFICER Erik J. Klein, North Dakota Highway Patrol.

Good luck to you and yours.

Oh HELL no!!! I watch WAY too many Dateline and 20/20's and have an overactive imagination. =/

Well I don't think helping a person in distress on the side of the road is the same as a hitchhiker...and of course that's a case by case situation.

But LOL, one time these two boys (probably around 14 or 15) were sticking their thumbs out on the side of the road along the golf course. I think they were being silly but I thought, ok I'm going to stop and call them on it. I said, do you boys need a ride somewhere? They were totally shocked, and they just kind of stammered, yeah, back to the clubhouse. So I told them to throw their clubs in the back of my van and I drove them there.

They were pretty much silent as I gave them a little speech on how dangerous it is to accept a ride from a stranger, even a nice lady like me. I'm pretty sure they didn't do it again!!!

I like how the lady who picked up Tommy put it, I just saw this young man in a suit walking down main street at two in the morning and knew something had gone very wrong. He was being stubborn and not calling me because he had been stupid. Met a girl at a wedding who ditched him at a bar no where near his house. I met the lady half way and drove him home. I think he will make better choices in the future.

Funny side note, his google maps told him it would take 18 hours to walk home, he thought that was better than calling mom. :p

Anyway I don't pick up hitchhikers but I do pick up people that just look like something has gone very wrong. Apparently my Karma got my son a ride that night. :)

Then I scolded him for using my Karma. :p

Good for you!!

Me? I'm scared of bugs - so definitely freaked out by people I don't know :). Glad you helped though! My mom does it sometimes...and I thank God she's always safe. She's learning to stop doing it. Just because someone is old doesn't mean they are safe!

Hitch hikers heck no ever but I was coming home from hanging out. It was between 2 and 3 in the morning. I was slowing down to stop for a red light when I saw a young woman running as if her life depended on it. She came flying out of nowhere. There was a group of guys chasing her. I blew my horn and pretended like I knew her. I rolled down my window and said, "Hey girl what's up. It's me. Get in the car. She looked terrified but gladly got in the car. Just as she closed the door the light changed and I drove off. She was frantic and almost in tears. Those guys were out to do her some kind of harm. I drove her a few blocks more to her house. She was relieved and so was I. I was just happy that I was there to help. There wasn't another car around with anyone in it. She truly would have been hurt and/or killed. This happened way before cell phones.

My dad used to pick up hitch hikers all the time until one night when he saw a woman on the on-ramp to the freeway, he stopped then her boyfriend jumped out of the bushes. Never again.
You can call for help for them.
Most everyone has a cell phone these days. Thankfully you helped those teens that had cell phones w/dead batteries but it could have turned out differently. Be very careful.

Yes, many times.

Only once since having children. Last summer a fellow was trying to get into town so that he could buy some parts for his boat. He was about as threatening as a housefly and as irritating as well ;-)

When I was a wee lass, I used to hitch hike quite a lot. I went all around the country with my violin and hound. While I wouldn't choose to travel that way now, it was quite a lot of fun then. I had some grand adventures and met some real characters and warm hearted individuals. I think I gave my poor mother an ulcer but, then again, I grew up listening to her travel stories of when she was young and turning my Oma's hair grey with worry.

Yeah, once. I was with my husband and my step-dad. We were leaving a rodeo and there was a guy walking along the long road before getting to the hwy. He was in boots and wranglers and it was pouring rain! We were in my husbands old truck (no backseat) but it had a canopy. We pulled over and told the guy we didn't have room up front but he could hop in back. He was more than happy to do so. We drove him into town to the bar we were heading to and he bought us all our drinks for the night :) he ended up being one of the bull riders from the rodeo. He and my husband had a lot to talk about!

I did once, and it was a very stupid idea. I was a teenager, and traveling with a friend to go to a concert. The hitchhiker was some hippy kid, that stunk to high heaven, and his brain was fried from doing too much lsd and following the Grateful Dead around. He whipped out a tinfoil with a rock of black opium in it, I guess to share it with us. He was such a messed up kid, and so smelly, I pulled off at the next exit and told him the is was then of the ride. Oh the stupid things we do as teenagers. I hope when my kids are teens they don't pick up hitch-hikers.
That being said, I once had a breakdown on the highway (pre-cell phones), and was so grateful when a mom stopped to give me a ride into town. So I guess it all depends on the situation.

I have never picked up someone on the side of the road with their thumb up, but I have picked up people that have been stranded. A mom and her kid once, a man (which I STILL thank God that I am alive cuz that was STUPID) that told me my tire was blown out and he could change my tire...come to find out my tire was Just Fine (ACK!), an older woman that was dropped off on the freeway because she was fighting with her husband (who does that?!), and some teens once.
If it looks like they need help I will stop, especially if my husband is with me. If I am without him and just have my kids I will only pick someone else up if they have their kids with them.
L.

When my daughter was in the 7th grade we lived in Katy and I was unemployed, I would drive her to school every day. I noticed a woman walking down the street in "office clothes" and I wondered where she worked that she could walk because there were only fast food places close to the school. Well one morning it was raining and I just could not pass her up. So I pulled over and offered her a ride. She was walking to the Bus stop Park N Ride about 1 1/2 miles away. She was very grateful, but said she had been doing this for 5 yrs and I was the first person to ever offer her a ride.
I did not see her every day, but when I did I would offer a ride. She was nice and always very thankful.
Way back when I was 15 or 16 my friend and I picked up a guy walking to the beach. We were so stupid!! And also very lucky! He was a nice guy, very quiet and thankful. When we got to the beach he just said thanks and walked away.
D.

Nope... Grew up in Cali and my mom told me from a very young age - never ever ever pick up a hitch hiker.

She would even make us check our doors were locked when there was people alongside of the road and we had to stop at a light or freeway exit.

I have twice - once was years ago when I saw a woman walking with her groceries in the pouring down rain.

The other was two years ago - I was pregnant, had a toddler in the back in the car seat, and saw a broken down car. A little ways up, I saw a grubby man walking with a gas can, smoking a cigarette. All I thought was, "OMG! Someone could hit him!" and I immediately pulled over and offered him a ride to the gas station.

He looked shocked (and I looked shocked. What was I thinking?!), put his cigarette out, got in, saw my son in the back, looked even more surprised and off we went. I dropped him off at the gas station a mile up the road - he offered me $$, which I refused. I offered him a ride back, which he refused, and off I went.

I NEVER told my husband because I know this was an irresponsible decision on my part.

However, its hard to balance compassion with safety. How many people have needed help, but have been ignored because others thought it was unsafe to help them?

Not for a long time R.. I'll ask people if they need help - but I've not had a stranger off the road in my car since the winter of 1999 when I was pregnant with Greg and going to the OB/GYN - poor W. stranded because she didn't know how to drive in the snow. So I picked her up and took her to work. Nothing happened. She was thankful.

Other than that - just don't see a lot of hitchhikers anymore. Most everyone has a cell phone.

Hitchhiking is really common here. I see a hitch hiker or two almost every time I get on the highway. A lot of people, especially those who live on the Indian reservations, don't have cars. And we get tons of people walking west on the highway - early 20 somethings all the way up through older men who look like they've been on the roads for decades.

I almost always have my kids in the car when I pass hitchhikers so I haven't picked up anyone in years, but a lot of people do.

When I was a teenager, my father would stop to pick up other boaters (canoeists and kayakers) along rivers. It's pretty obvious when you see wet, appropriately attired folks along waterways what they are in need of - a ride back to the start of the run/their car. Humorously enough I got voted to hitchhike back to our car once. After thirty minutes of all sorts of people driving right by me, I had to go tell my father I couldn't get a ride. He marched up the hill and was picked up by the second car. Go figure. Otherwise, no way. It is illegal for a reason and I am not going to invite possible danger into my car. Can we all say Ed Kemper since the danger cuts both ways?

My husband and I backpacked across Costa Rica, pre-child. During part of the trip, we rented a car. So we're driving along this dirt road, and there are these three men walking along w/ their thumbs up. All of a sudden, my husband pulls over. I just about had a conniption fit. Internally. They rode with us for about 1/2 hour, then we dropped them off when our paths diverged. I was white-knuckling the car door that whole half hour. I told my husband after they closed the car door that if he ever did that again, I'll get out of the car. And I'll stay out of the car!

I'm sure they were very nice people, but I don't take chances like that. My husband is a more fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants type of guy.

I have never picked someone up. My mom picked someone up once b/c it was a woman and her small child and she said if the woman murdered her well so be it - she could not in good conscience go by. Also, a little old man got into my mom's car once while she was sitting at a stop light. He was foreign and clearly didn't really know English. He got in the back seat and kept saying "Taxi, go." She was sort of freaked out but this guy was like 100 and was in the back seat. She just drove him down the street for a few miles. He told her when to stop and she let him out in front of some apartments. He tried to give her $ but she just told him no. He must have thought the U.S. was awesome, what with free taxis and all! LOL I have accepted a ride from someone although I was a little freaked doing it. My friends and I were in my friend's car coming back from VA Beach. His heat stopped working (we went too early in the season but swam anyhow!) then his lights started dimming then his alternator light came on. We pulled over and my 1 friend who did know a little about cars was looking at the engine when a couple pulled over in their Range Rover. They said that the alternator was dead and we were running on battery which wouldn't last. Sure enough, the car died and would not restart. They offered us a ride but us 2 girls didn't want to go. The 3 boys wanted to go so it was either 2 girls sit on the side of the road and wait an hour + for someone to come get us (this was pre-cell phone days) or go with them. We figured 5 of us, 2 of them so we went. They were super nice. Drove us all the way to Richmond to my one friend's house and his mom took us all home. Oh, another cool story - my Aunt and Uncle (together over 40 years) met b/c she picked him up while he was hitchhiking. Of course that was CA in the late 60's! Although her friend said she didn't want to pick him up but my Aunt said there was something about him and she turned around and went back. The rest, as they say, is history!

women with small children( or pregnant), stranded on the side of the road..pick em up
stranded teenagers on the side of the road( as long as they arent stoned or drunk)..sure, pick em up
combat veterans(disabled or not), again( no brainer), pick em up
friends and family, again, pick em up
and, of course, the disabled should be given the courtesy of a ride.
did i miss anybody? and yes, whenever i pick anybody up, i call my other half to let him know, just on the remote chance that something is amiss
K. h.

Hitchiker, no. But if im with my husband or something and we see someone that could need help then we will. Flat tires or jumper cables? You bet! I've needed help before and not one person stopped and my husband was driving over the road and it super sucked :(therefore, if I can help I will. Let some random dude (even if he's hot) in my car, nope!

In Wisconsin it gets COLD. If I see a mom with kids or a younger girl that's alone I'll stop and ask if I can give them a ride.

I'm rarely turned down and if I am it's because they are almost to where they are going.

It's a nice feeling and during those short trips I learn a LOT. I never knew where the new homeless shelter moved to but now I know. It really makes you appreciate what you have.

I haven't ever picked up a hitchhiker but I did something really stupid back when I was about 20 and in college. I had a job in the next town over (about 15 miles) and was on my way to work one morning when my car overheated. This was 20 years ago so no cell phone. I wasn't near any gas stations or anything. While I was sitting there trying to figure out what to do this big pickup truck pulls up with three burly (sp?) men. One gets in my car and is going to drive it to the nearest gas station and then I hopped in the truck with the other two-got right in the middle of them. Lucky for me they were honest guys just on the way to get coffee for the morning.....