Picked up a hitchhiker today

[phillygirl]

I don't really know why. I saw the gas can in the hand. I thought it was a woman, by the time I realized it was a man I had already veered over to the side of the road. I knew there was a gas station not far ahead and delivered him there. And I kept thinking the whole time he was in the car "god, you're stupid, Philly...why do you keep doing this?"

[Gingersnap]

I don't really know why. I saw the gas can in the hand. I thought it was a woman, by the time I realized it was a man I had already veered over to the side of the road. I knew there was a gas station not far ahead and delivered him there. And I kept thinking the whole time he was in the car "god, you're stupid, Philly...why do you keep doing this?"

Do you pick them up a lot?

[phillygirl]

Do you pick them up a lot?

Not usually hitchhikers. I seem to keep running into people that just look like they need rides...women with strollers; asian couple with giant suitcases; moms with kids. I've never picked up someone actually asking for a ride before, and certainly not a middle aged man.

[Gingersnap]

In Wyoming it's the law - you have to pick up hitchhikers under certain conditions and on certain roads.

I seldom see them on my normal work route. Usually, it's a young, female tweaker early in the a.m. Very sad but I figure she has more energy at that hour than I do. I don't drive the downtown Denver areas enough to see random people in need (or I never notice them).

[phillygirl]

In Wyoming it's the law - you have to pick up hitchhikers under certain conditions and on certain roads.

I seldom see them on my normal work route. Usually, it's a young, female tweaker early in the a.m. Very sad but I figure she has more energy at that hour than I do. I don't drive the downtown Denver areas enough to see random people in need (or I never notice them).

There aren't many near me, so generally when I see someone that looks in need of a ride, I think they really are and there isn't something nefarious going on. I just realized today that I should be more careful. I usually only stop for women (although I've stopped to offer assistance to families and an older man on the highway on Christmas morning...turns out he had just pulled over to take his coat off and thought I was about crazy for stopping to see if he needed help).

[RobJohnson]

I don't really know why. I saw the gas can in the hand. I thought it was a woman, by the time I realized it was a man I had already veered over to the side of the road. I knew there was a gas station not far ahead and delivered him there. And I kept thinking the whole time he was in the car "god, you're stupid, Philly...why do you keep doing this?"

That was still a kind gesture. Did you give him a ride back to the vehicle that needed gas or take off when he was paying for the gas?

[Adam]

It's illegal both to hitchhike and to pick up hitchhikers in Tennessee. Very, very rarely to I ever actually see someone with their thumb out.

Whenever it's reasonably obvious to me that someone is in a jam, I'll pick them up if I'm not just in a tremendous hurry or something. Of course, I'm male and I'm almost always armed, so that's quite different from a single woman picking up strangers on the side of the road.

[RobJohnson]

It's illegal both to hitchhike and to pick up hitchhikers in Tennessee. Very, very rarely to I ever actually see someone with their thumb out.

Whenever it's reasonably obvious to me that someone is in a jam, I'll pick them up if I'm not just in a tremendous hurry or something. Of course, I'm male and I'm almost always armed, so that's quite different from a single woman picking up strangers on the side of the road.

I'm usually never armed but if I see someone caught out on a fitness walk and one of our mysterious rainstorms shows up out of no where I often will offer assistance. We also have places that do not have cell phone service and I usually stop and make sure those motorists are ok. I do know of one couple that had his wife's wallet inside her purse boosted when they were trying to help him get his truck started. They let him sit inside the cab of their truck while they waited for the tow truck as it was snowing on the mountain. My job has made it necessary to know most of our 36,000 residents so there is that.

The only person I seen that I did not think twice about driving past without officering them a ride were walking a huge dog in a rain storm. I did not want my vehicle to smell like wet dog. All three of them, including the dog were pretty soaked and muddy, it would of been a mess.

[scott]

Go with your gut, Philly. But get a CCL and pack just in case.

[Tom Servo]

I would definitely not be inclined to give anyone a ride despite my stature as an adult male who looks tougher than he is. From a distance. If you have cataracts.

Back in my teenage years there was this one friend who'd give anyone a ride, no questions asked. He met lots of interesting people that and no harm ever befouled him.

The one time I threw caution to the wind I picked up an older lady wandering the streets of my suburban landscape at 2 am. All she asked was for me to take her to a place with a public telephone, but then she offered a blowjob for helping her, which kind of soured the whole thing. Blowjobs from strangers can be a real treat, but not when that treat was birthed in the Hoover administration.

[Michele]

When we were living in the San Juan Islands, I picked up a fellow employee (that I recognized but didn't really know because he was a server at Rosario Resort and I worked in accounting) who was walking home late at night. I was so afraid that he knew my car and would be mad if I didn't stop, that I pulled over to offer a ride. I knew he was going back to the resort where he lived in employee housing so that was no big deal..it was on my way.

Unfortunately, I didn't know that he had left the local tavern and was drunker than a skunk..and he reeked of booze. I figured I could kick his butt if I had to because of his condition but I wasn't sure there wouldn't be a chain reaction if his constant heaving turned into hurling. I was never so happy to deposit him at his door. The next day he brought me up a latte and a delicious beignet and never said anything more than "thank you", then turned around and walked out the door.

I would not pick up a guy hitchhiker again even though now I carry.

[Novaheart]

The last time I picked up a hitch hiker was in Silver Spring Maryland. It was an old (probably my age now) man with two small children and some grocery bags. Once they were in the van, I realized that the "grocery bags" were full of clothes and personal items. Grampa was taking the children to Florida, and presumably away from parents who couldn't or wouldn't care for the children. It was heart breaking.

[Celeste Chalfonte]

The last time I picked up a hitch hiker was in Silver Spring Maryland. It was an old (probably my age now) man with two small children and some grocery bags. Once they were in the van, I realized that the "grocery bags" were full of clothes and personal items. Grampa was taking the children to Florida, and presumably away from parents who couldn't or wouldn't care for the children. It was heart breaking.

You take after our grandfather more than you can even imagine.

[RobJohnson]

In the spirit of phillygirl I almost turned around and asked a kid if he needed a ride last night. It was about 11:30 PM & he was walking on a very dark street and using his smart phone for light. He was really hard to see and I was afraid the kid might get hit. I had a car full of groceries and he looked young enough that he was not having any trouble with the walk, it was a nice night out so I kept going. After I drove past the guy I kept thinking to myself "I should of asked him if he needed a ride."

[phillygirl]

When we were living in the San Juan Islands, I picked up a fellow employee (that I recognized but didn't really know because he was a server at Rosario Resort and I worked in accounting) who was walking home late at night. I was so afraid that he knew my car and would be mad if I didn't stop, that I pulled over to offer a ride. I knew he was going back to the resort where he lived in employee housing so that was no big deal..it was on my way.

Unfortunately, I didn't know that he had left the local tavern and was drunker than a skunk..and he reeked of booze. I figured I could kick his butt if I had to because of his condition but I wasn't sure there wouldn't be a chain reaction if his constant heaving turned into hurling. I was never so happy to deposit him at his door. The next day he brought me up a latte and a delicious beignet and never said anything more than "thank you", then turned around and walked out the door.

I would not pick up a guy hitchhiker again even though now I carry.

Yes, that's usually my rule. I will always stop (if it's daylight) if I see a car broken down, and if it's a woman I will offer a ride to the nearest gas station. My instincts to be polite are what made me stay stopped for the last one even when I realized it was a man, not a woman. I wanted to leave, but felt rude doing so.

Many years ago I was in the car with my mom and there was an incredibly scruffy looking guy hitchhiking on the side of the highway. My mom started to pull over for him, when I yelled at her, asking what she was doing. She responded "oh, I thought maybe that was someone you knew." Really, Mom...what kind of people do you think are my friends? Of course, she was notorious for taking in strays.