by Jennifer Eastlake

Created on: March 09, 2007   Last Updated: April 26, 2007

These are just some basic tips and simple words of advice for hitchhikers. A lot of it is just common sense but some of it I had to learn the hard way. They are basic but, I believe, pretty universally applicable regardless of where you are in the world.

In no particular order:

Sign's do help! Yeah you'll feel like a bit of a clich but if you're on the open road and you have the means to make a sign to let people know where you're going it really will make more people inclined to stop. If there's lot of places on the way you may even want to write a nearer location on the sign to increase the number of people going as far as you are and you can always strike up conversation and see if they're going further.

Don't settle for the first offer! This is hard especially if you've been waiting for a long time with no luck and, ultimately, it is really a judgment call based on where you are and the amount of traffic but you have to firmly keen in mind that it won't benefit you to be stuck in the middle of nowhere even if it is several hundred miles closer to where you want to be.

Introduce yourself! Seriously you have to do this as soon as you're sitting down if not sooner. It's more than possible to miss the moment and then you're both complete strangers.

Talk! Lot's of people pick up hitchhikers because they want the company in order to stave off fatigue or boredom. Of course you should gauge the situation but in most cases you'll be expected to provide at least light conversation.

No sleep till Brooklyn! You can't fall asleep when you're in someone's car or truck for a variety of reasons most of which are so obvious they really don't need to be stated. Suffice to say it's not the done thing. As mentioned above some people pick up hitchhikers to prevent falling asleep at the wheel. The last thing they want is to hear your snores.

The sights and sounds! You're going to hear and see a lot of strange things. There's few other ways to find out just how varied people can be and you'll get all sorts. The golden rule is you want to keep conversation light. No politics or other polarizing topics and if the driver brings such subjects up you'll want to be cautious and neutral. Most of the time you'll be getting rides with truck drivers and it's important to remember that many of them almost live in their trucks so you're essentially in someone's living quarters. There are no certainties with truckers but it's not uncommon to see pornography and drug use. If that bothers you... well

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