Safety Tips and advice for Hitchhiking and talking to your loved ones about hitchhiking

[FishYouWereHere]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 23 year old female from Canada, and I will be hitchhiking with my male partner (who is experienced with hitchhiking) out to the west coast this summer.

It's my first time hitchhiking and unfortunately I thought my family was strong enough to hear about my plans, but my parents are having a really hard time with the idea, to the point where I probably should have lied to them about the whole thing. It's too late now, and they're extremely upset at the idea... I am not traveling until the summer and they are having trouble sleeping already... and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for talking to their loved ones about hitchhiking, and if you had any tips on how to be safe that I can use for myself and also share with my family?

If you could share your own stories or any advice I'd be grateful,

Thanks

-J

 

[CrisM]

Ah, I'm experiencing this same problem. I mentioned my plans to family only to see the horror on their faces. And of course I made mention of it while they were watching the news and many of them are under the impression that if you step out your door alone at night, you're going to get shot and robbed. After their reaction, I made up a false compromise. I told them that I will not hitchhike, but rather save up money and take buses along the west coast and stay at state parks along the way. This sounds much safer and if it's going to help them sleep at night and allow you to do what you want to do without knowing they are worried when you're gone, then I see no problem with it.

If you have no interest in lying or can not do so at this point, sometimes you just have to be okay with loved ones not being okay with what you're doing. Perhaps emphasize that you're going with a male and will take pictures of license plates and send it to another in case you disappeared and also stay in contact with them. There's only so much you can do in this situation. I do not blame my family for their extreme concern, I am someone they care about and if they feel that someone they love is getting themself into a dangerous situation, it's normal to be upset. The best you can do is attempt to reason and compromise and if they are still not satisfied then you can leave knowing you did what you could to bring some amount of confort to them.

 

[IOWACORE]

If it helps calm the tension a bit; of the places i've hitched in so far, the west coast was the easiest. some states in the midwest can be really barren and you might get stuck for... a long ass time. and certain towns out there you have to worry about the kinda folks thatll be pickin you up. just take a look in the eye of your driver before you get in the vehicle. first ask THEM where THEYRE going. if you get the impression they are on drugs or you smell alcohol or are just plain creepy and fucked up, just politely tell them youll get the next ride cause theyre not going the right way, or something of that nature. trust in your partner as im sure he knows the ropes if hes done even a little hitching.

but in all honesty. the west coast is very different. I have not had trouble at all hitching, even with three people, and even on the side of the interstate on the west coast. the people that picked me up have been the nicest so far and the weather stays mild.

if you need some saftey tips: just keep talking. you are in control and if youre worried about getting fucked with just keep the conversation PG. if they fuck with you... be assertive. tell em "Fuck off, im just here for the ride. now take me to _____" or "let me out NOW" and if that doesnt work the tried and true alternative is to pretend your going to puke. "oh shit im going to vomit. pull over" SERIOUSLY. they dont want you to puke in their car, theyll pull over. then you get out.

and to help youll be traveling with a male. and im sure people wont try to fuck with you guys as long as your together.

its really not as bad as it sounds. use your best judgement and dont get in the car if your instinct tells you not to. good luck calming the folks down and have fun this summer. Oregon is great for hitching, youre legally allowed to walk on all roads and there are no panhandling laws.

 

[Unslap]

Digihitch has a few threads like this one where people speak quite positively about hitch hiking. Youre traveling with a guy, you should be fine, tell your parents that i said that. Get pepper spray to help them calm down. They should get used to it after youve done it a bit

 

[EphemeralStick]

Say you won't hitch at night. Usually when people think terrible things are going to happen they associate it with nighttime. Personally I don't like hitching at night since it weirds me out but I don't think its too much different. Ultimately though its probably going to boil down to what CrisM said:

sometimes you just have to be okay with loved ones not being okay with what you're doing.

Best of luck out there!

 

[Keyser Soze]

tell em (BRB)

 

[finn]

I'm pretty sure you can't get pepperspray in Canada, maybe you can take some krav maga classes and travel with a fixed blade knife?

 

[barefootinbabylon]

Oregon is great for hitching, youre legally allowed to walk on all roads and there are no panhandling laws.

Does that include flyin' a sign?! If so, my ass just might head out there this summer; in between flyin' and/or trying to do apple harvest in WA, and/or busking, and/or working as a strippah [sometimes i WISH!] I want to save up enough monies to go back down to Central America this winter.. Argh. Morally opposed to selling life for $8/hr... Anyways!

Yeah, right... My parents, like yours, like most, are incredibly, fundamentally opposed to the idea of hitchhiking/alternative living in general, and that's who I'm currently having to answer to, so... yep. Same exact situation as the OP. :\ With a male traveling companion, seriously, you will BE FINE. i know that HH is portrayed by our lovely corporate media as a tremendously dangerous thing, but truly, all the people who picked me/us up on our XC journeys were amongst the NICEST people you will ever meet. They went out of their way to feed us, shelter us, hook us up with showers and $$... Generally, the people who are willing to take strangers into their car (and this includes the actual act of pulling the car over, which seemed a too-difficult thing for most people to do, so they would smile in the friendliest way possible, shrug, and go on their merry little way) - are those who go OUT OF THEIR WAY to provide kindness to strangers. Of course, trying to use this argument could easily turn into a 'Yes, and ALSO, the ax murderers are pretty damn willing to go out of THEIR way, too!! Eh, eh???!!!' Hehe... Reminds me of the time I wrote 'NOT AN AX MURDERER' on my sign; weren't getting rides for SHIITTT in NM. 2 minutes after I get that thing out there... Bam, we get a ride across the state. Anyways. ADD is a bitch, sorry about my ramblinz.

But, seriously. With a male traveling companion, and/or a knife of some kind (if ya believe in that sort of thing), you will be FINE. And... everything everyone else said, as well. True dat, true dat.

 

[IOWACORE]

Does that include flyin' a sign?!

had the nicest railroad bull ever bust us for sleeping on RR property in portland. we took the opportunity to ask him what the panhandling laws were. he said there were none. yes, this includes flying a sign. we once flew right at a sheriff and he gave us no ticket, or money either. he just talked awkwardly about the weather till the light changed and he went on his way. though there was a look in his eye that said: he despised us dirty fuckers but couldn't do shit! because were WERE NOT BREAKING ANY LAWS. this incident was proof enough for me.

 

[FishYouWereHere]

Thank you so much everyone, this is all really helpful

I think I'm just gonna have to tell them that I'm going to be safe, and that's that.

 

[1544c]

my mom flipped out when i told her what i was going to do. i told her to deal with it and stop being so goddamned hysterical... she's use to it now after 5 years but i think she still is bothered by it at times.

 

[JoelRailDude]

I remember when I started going out saturday nights and coming back sunday mornings. She would be like
Mom-" i cant go to sleep til you're home"
I said- " listen, mom, i'm growing up, I'm gona go out late at night. If you choose not to sleep there is nothing I can do. Wether you are awake or not, is not gona make me safer in the streets"
So she went to sleep:
Mother" where are you goign tonight?"
Me- "Well, I can tell you I'm goign to the street races to watch like I always do every saturday, Or I can lie to you and tell you something else. Depends which one you want to hear"
I was never given any more shit.

My plans to leave are " I'm going with a group of ppl to "X" place" they are meeting up @ this gas station ,drop me off there" when she does, 1 block down board the train. Once I'm on the road I'll say" yeah i boarded a train with them, I didnt say we where driving...." if conv gets heated, hang up!

 

[ayyyjayyy]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 23 year old female from Canada, and I will be hitchhiking with my male partner (who is experienced with hitchhiking) out to the west coast this summer.

It's my first time hitchhiking and unfortunately I thought my family was strong enough to hear about my plans, but my parents are having a really hard time with the idea, to the point where I probably should have lied to them about the whole thing. It's too late now, and they're extremely upset at the idea... I am not traveling until the summer and they are having trouble sleeping already... and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for talking to their loved ones about hitchhiking, and if you had any tips on how to be safe that I can use for myself and also share with my family?

If you could share your own stories or any advice I'd be grateful,

Thanks

-J

Make sure truckers you hitch with know you're not a lot lizard before taking a ride...lol

 

[ZakAtakaZ]

Digihitch has a few threads like this one where people speak quite positively about hitch hiking. Youre traveling with a guy, you should be fine, tell your parents that i said that. Get pepper spray to help them calm down. They should get used to it after youve done it a bit

WTF!?! Pepper spray your parents to calm them down till they get used to it! Great Advice LOL

 

[outskirts]

I always scribble down the vehicle's plate number real quick. I'm always making travel notes in general so I have a pen and a tiny notebook on hand at most times.

I never load my gear into the vehicle before I get in, it enters the vehicle with me. The same with exiting the vehicle, I throw my gear out first or it exits the vehicle as I am doing so.

When making that first contact with the driver, I always beat them to the punch and ask them where they are going, which gives me a few seconds to process if I get a bad feeling or not, and can decline the ride with whatever excuse if something is off or does not feel right.

I always keep a golf ball sized rock or chunk of metal in hands reach. Just in case some asshole passing by me thinks I'm target practice for their beer bottles.

Don't stand where traffic might hit you.

 

[Coywolf]

I'm pretty sure you can't get pepperspray in Canada, maybe you can take some krav maga classes and travel with a fixed blade knife?

You can get pepper spray in Canada, I dont know where the hell you heard you cant, I carry bear mace, personally.

Does that include flyin' a sign?! If so, my ass just might head out there this summer; in between flyin' and/or trying to do apple harvest in WA

And please dont advocate more people to come up to oregon and fly signs, we have enough fuckin' people up here as it is. Not saying dont come here, just dont come here with the sole intention to bum off of everyone, its annoying, the summers are unbearable with amount of people that come up during the summer to shoot dope and fly signs.

I think it comes down to explaining to your parents that you are an adult, and therefore you have the ability to make your own decisions. Hitchhiking is not near as dangerous as it seems, and traveling with someone else increases safety even more.

Seriously though, invest in a good weapon/deterrent, even if you will never use it. Also, try and explain to your parents that they should be supporting you in your decisions, and that it is alreay in your system, and unless you do it you may regret it forever, thats what i had to tell my parents, and they calmed down a bit.

Good luck