Hitchhiking

mira666

I've done it once, stopped at the penrith end of the A66 for a biker looking chap with trade plates, turns out he was going to Lincolnshire (i was heading to cambridgeshire) so gave him a lift all the way to Newark, really sound bloke. But can see how others wouldn't have stopped.

NBLondon

When I was a youngster, my father would always (and only) stop for a uniformed serviceman. For him it was paying back the drivers who gave him a lift in his RAF days. I promised him I would do the same.

Never had the opportuity though - I suspect they don't hike in uniform these days.

atarisrocks

i have never picked up a hitchhicker or became one. im too socially akward the idea of sitting in a car with a stranger making small talk seems too scary for me.
though i always thought due to the number of broken down cars leading to the music festival i attend to each year if some needed a lift i would pick them up as we have something in common

Idiophreak

I don't think I'd ever pick them up anyway, but whenever I see them they're always stood halfway up sliproads - which seems like the last place I'd want to stop...never really understood it.

Lum

Idiophreak wrote: »

I don't think I'd ever pick them up anyway, but whenever I see them they're always stood halfway up sliproads - which seems like the last place I'd want to stop...never really understood it.

It's technically illegal, but also safer, would you rather they hitched from the motorway roundabout? The sliproads do, at least, have hard shoulders to safely stop in.

Funny story a trade plater told me about that actually, when the topic came on to the difference between proper experienced coppers vs the highway's agency wombles.

Guy was on the sliproad as you describe, and the wombles pull up, start shouting at him, telling him it's illegal to hitch there and that he should be on the roundabout, he tries to explain that no-one will be dumb enough to stop on a 70mph roundabout as it's unsafe, but they make him move up there anyway.

Half an hour later a copper pulls up and has a go at him for hitching from such a stupid place and to use the bloody sliproad. He explains that he'd like to but the HA had made him do this. Copper sighs, rolls eyes and asks for his name and then scribbles a note which he hands, which is the local police number, his name and badge number and tells him to call if the HA give him any more crap.

Sure enough the same HA officer turns up some time later, a phone call is made and the end result is a copper and a womble arguing at the side of a sliproad.

skivenov

rev_henry wrote: »

When I was a kid my father would usually pick people up if he saw them, which wasn't very often! When he was about my age I believe he used to have competitions with friends to arrive somewhere first by hitching! He also said the trade platers would be paid the cost of a train ticket back, so would try to save that for themselves by hitching - sounds reasonable! I'd possibly trust such a person more given they were trusted to drive someone elses car across the country!

Almost all platers are either full on self-employed, or work through agencies on a self-employed basis. The "good" agencies, like the one I work for, generally pay 50% of a fare if they take public transport (that way there's an incentive there for you not to spend the boss's money, because you're also spending your own). So if you've just been paid £20 to drop a car off, and your train fare to the next job is £20, then you're on a pretty bad hourly rate, especially if payday's a month off.

Generally, in these days of mobiles, we're able to help each other out, so don't need to hitch anywhere near as much. Personally, if you see me hitching, that's a sure sign I'm up ****-creek, and I will genuinely appreciate the lift.

Not everyone does, but as long as I've got the cash on me, I'll leave a few quid on the seat so the kind soul can have a drink on me.

If I see someone hitching who's not got trade plates, I will make a quick character assessment before I pick them up.

And a big, big thank you to anyone who ever gives a trade plater a lift. Most of us will try to pass on the favour if we can, I rescued a bloke who was walking up the A14 with a fuel can the other week and spent 45 minutes getting him to a garage and taking him back to his car. It's Karma, try to help people out, and maybe someone will help you out one day.

skivenov

Lum wrote: »

It's technically illegal, but also safer, would you rather they hitched from the motorway roundabout? The sliproads do, at least, have hard shoulders to safely stop in.

Funny story a trade plater told me about that actually, when the topic came on to the difference between proper experienced coppers vs the highway's agency wombles.

Guy was on the sliproad as you describe, and the wombles pull up, start shouting at him, telling him it's illegal to hitch there and that he should be on the roundabout, he tries to explain that no-one will be dumb enough to stop on a 70mph roundabout as it's unsafe, but they make him move up there anyway.

The correct procedure is to jump in the HATO's truck, say thanks for picking me up. They'll have to take you at least a junction in the right direction before they can safely drop you off I haven't tried it, but I know plenty who have :rotfl:

In theory, if we're past the first blue sign, we're committing an offence of being a pedestrian on the motorway. So I generally stand in front of that sign with a yellow hiviz on. There's normally a good bit of hard shoulder behind the signs that you can pull up in long enough for us to get in (we don't hang about if a door's open).

I asked a BTP officer about this as he was giving me a lift to a garage (nice bloke), he said he used to be on traffic and if he saw someone safely on the shoulder picking a plater up, they all knew what the score was and looked the other way.

Pee

I don't usually have room, but know a few people locally who hitch and always give them a lift if I'm going the right way. I would like to help more people, but being a woman I am slightly nervous about it.