Poll: Give a Stranger a Ride?

[Autolycus]

Some good reading about a man who hitchhiked in the 90s is "Bomb the Suburbs".

He would go to all the ghettos and walk around. He is a white male who grew up in Hyde Park in Chicago that wanted to prove a few points.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/18...6120/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-7080265-5139214?ie=UTF8

 

[Ovid]

I think some people are expecting badguys to look like badguys.

 

[CNYCacher]

He had left the bag in the car!!

Hey, you can't tell a story like that, and not tell us what was in the bag! You musta looked inside, right?

So what was in the bag?

None of your darn business!!!

 

[stevelyn]

No hitchhikers at all along the road system even though most are backpack wearing hippies during the summer between ANC and FAI and are probably harmless enough.

Out in the bush and rural areas it's kinda expected that you help folks.

 

[STAGE 2]

NO NO NO NO.... The days where people are mostly good are over. Prevention and awareness are the most important things that a person can practice to keep themselves and their family safe.

I don't care if its a diabetic amputee midget on the verge of respiratory failure. I ain't gonna pick him up and neither is anyone in my family.

Its very sad that things have gotten the way they are, but my family's safety is far more important than the convenience of a total stranger.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

i do

i went 18 years without a drivers license i pick folks up now soetimes. usually only when i'm with someone else in the thruck i make my friends get in back seat with my pistol rider is up front in front of them.one guy asked me why my friend got in back i told him the truth"i don't know you but i'll give ya a ride if you get stupid i'll have him shoot you

 

[distra]

Nope. Never. I've read a lot of "not in a urban area, but rural area is ok" Do you think sh*t does'nt happen in the country? Don't kid youself, people still get robbed, raped, and murdered in small town USA. Just this past spring, off of I84 in northern CT a lady stopped for a trucker who flagged her down. She was raped and tied to a tree less than 2 miles from her house That area is very rural in CT. I've told my wife, if some steps in front of the truck to try and get you to stop, do everything to can to avoid them, but DO NOT stop under any circumstances.

 

[Green Lantern]

I dunno what I'd do in the situation in the OP, but I will tell you what I did last year. (Before CCW...)

I stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a CD, about 7:30 in the evening - still light out. On the way out I see a youngish, rather scrawny looking white male walking with a cane. He asks me if I know anything about alternators on a car. Unfortunately, I missed the dip in the "mechanical skills" end of the gene pool. Whipped out the cell and tried to call my brother and another guy who knows this stuff, but could get neither. He said he lived in an apartment a few miles up the road and asked if I'd give him a lift. I realize my gut isn't really OLD enough to have much "insinct" but it said the guy was legit so I agreed.

On the way back to my car, I kept pace with him rather than go ahead. Either a good actor, or the limp was legit. On the road he said he thought that I was a good Christian man, a couple had just passed by him without stopping when he spoke to them. I felt like he was being overly generous in his assesment of me, but just said something along the lines of well all run into trouble and need a hand sometimes. We got there...I think he offered to pay me, but I declined. He thanked me and was on his way.

Of course, it dosen't work out that good ALL the time. Did I make a mistake? I'm fine and I helped a guy out, so it's hard to feel that way. I realize of course it would not be wise to make a HABIT of this. But this one time I'm glad I did....

 

[LightningJoe]

Low-Sci:

Glad it worked out, but it might not have. Don't recommend that unless you're the sort of fellow who likes a fight. I've given rides to people I knew were lying about why they wanted a ride, but I just wanted to see what they would do. Not the brightest thing I've ever done.

And just because the guy didn't attack you may not prove much. He may have decided during the ride that you weren't a good candidate. So he just got out at the bus station, waited until you drove off, and then looked for somebody else on whom to pull his gag.

Strongly recommend against giving rides to strangers. Wish it were a better world, but we have to deal with the one we've got.

 

[22-rimfire]

I have hitch hiked and I feel for people needing a ride. As a result, I do on occasion pick up people. Color or sex does not matter; but how they are dressed does matter. In the right frame of mind and he strikes me as being honest, I would give him a ride to the bus station. I would have him put any bags or whatever in the back of my truck though.

I have picked up a few scary people and I have picked up some really nice ones. The scarey ones, you remember.

I frequently have too much junk in the front seat of my truck to give someone a ride these days. I am not going to move a bunch of stuff around for someone I don't know. I have been known to let someone ride in the back of my truck and then drive slowly.

 

[stevelyn]

.....but rural is okay. Don't think s**t doesn't happen in the country?

When I speak of "rural" up here, I'm not talking about "a ways outta town" on the road system.

Rural in Alaska is accessable by air, boat, snowmachine, atv only. You usually know the folks you're dealing with out there. If not, you know someone in their family or the family name.

 

[leadcounsel]

I've been without a car, and truding along on foot makes one appreciate folks willing to stop and help you out.

I will almost always give someone a ride that I see asking for a lift.

+1

In the mid 90's I hitched through Scotland when I lived there in college armed with only a folding knife for protection.

I have hitched in the States a couple of times.

I would say that I often give rides to people but it is COMPLETELY situational. I would likely have given the guy in the example a ride, but I would have had to have been there to get the "vibe" from the person.

In the last year I've probably given 10 people rides. I have some funny stories. I often give rides to people in ski towns, but these are clearly skiers going to the bus stop. Once I gave a guy a lift in Breckenridge on a 10 below freezing night, he was walking a mile and it was unbelievably cold. He turned out to be a bar & grill owner and bought me a nice dinner for my trouble. Some friends and I picked up a backpacker on a cold night in Breck and drove him a few miles. He was an odd character for certain. I've picked up a couple individuals at the entrance ramp to the highway.

It is situational though and I have NOT picked up a lot more than I have picked up. It depends on the location, the way the person looks, their gear, the "VIBE" they give, time of day, etc. If it's late, in a bad area, they look rough, etc. I won't pick them up. It also depends on who is with me, whether I'm armed (almost always am), if I'm in a hurry, if I can safely stop, if I have room in my vehicle, etc.

So, it really just depends, many times yes and many times no.

 

[BigRobT]

I used to be pretty complacent about picking up hitchhikers. As long as I was by myself. I did a lot of hitchhiking in my teens. What stopped me was a night that I was stranded and decided to hitchhike. It was somewhere around Zero degrees out and 0200. Needing to get back home and no convenient or short route to hoof it, I had called a cab. They didn't ever show up. So, hitchhiking it was. It almost turned into a nightmarish scene. The guy kept offering me illicit drugs (cocaine) and I kept refusing. He invited me to come "party" with him at "his place". Again, I declined. As he approached the exit where I needed to get off, I informed him. He never slowed. Not even 2 seconds after he passed the intersection, I grabbed his ignition key and turned off the vehicle. At that point, I pulled my Buck Folder and made sure he let me out. I'll never know his true intentions, but I was angry and scared. I still wound up walking another mile to my apartment. When it's that cold, it really sucks. One just can't trust anybody any more.

 

[Low-Sci]

I actually agree with most of the posters, in that as a general rule, you don't give strangers rides.

But, I also believe in being friendly. The easiest way to not instigate trouble is to not act like trouble.

Nine times out of ten, I wouldn't give a stranger a ride. If I'd had my gun in my car, there's no way I would have even considered it, because it would be in the glove box directly in front of him. If it had been at night and the street was quiet, I probably would have felt the need to draw my knife, get in, lock the doors, and GTF out of there.

 

[espanola]

I know he might be faking with the crutches and cast, but if my gut wasn't screaming at me to run away, I would IF I wasn't with my wife or kids. I, of course, would be carrying, so I would pay close attention.
I've done this several times and always paid attention to the individual before picking up and while in the vehicle and was always glad I helped them out.
But, I have refused some to because of the "vibe" they were putting out. There are a lot of crazies out there, but most folks are just people trying to get by, just like me.

 

[akodo]

Nope. Never. I've read a lot of "not in a urban area, but rural area is ok" Do you think sh*t does'nt happen in the country? Don't kid youself, people still get robbed, raped, and murdered in small town USA.

I think one of the reasons for the caveat regarding rural areas is because there are less options for a stranded traveler or whatever. There are no cab companies in most rural areas, so that is out. In urban areas, there is a gas station or store or some neutral public area about every mile or three, so a walker in need can go and call the police/tow truck/relatives or whatever. Where I grew up, there were some strectches of road that went a few miles between farms, and if those farmers happened to not be home, and a person had serious trouble, then what?

Unless it is on a major highway, cops aren't going to eventually pass by and see the person and take action either.

Further, with less potential victims, most scam artists, criminals, rapists, and the like aren't going to try waving down motorist stunts...they use other tactics like spike strips, fake beakdowns that block the road, etc etc.

I won't pick up a stranger in the inner city, in most cities, or in the burbs, but out in rural areas, yes.

Also, a chilly winter day or night is a LOT different in how I read a situation. There leaving a person behind who is walking along a desolate road may well mean that person freezes to death.

 

[lionking]

I believe it would have to depend on a certain scenerio and gut instinct for me to decide whether to give someone a ride.

under the scenerio you described I might not.

If it was someone at my work but I still didnt know him yes I would.
If it was someone stranded with a car broke down yes I would.
If it was just someone thumbing along the road no I would not.
If it was a female I would most certainly give more consideration to giving a ride because of the fact Im male and would feel less threatened by someone smaller than me and out of male courtesy....predjudice maybe but the truth.

all my yes or no's are regardless of race.

sorry but the fact is these days there are too many loonies to just be nice to anyone.

lol!...the fact is if I saw someone who looked like myself Id be scared to give him a ride lol!