Why was hitchhiking more socially acceptable back in the day?

And what changed? Have you ever picked up somebody?

Because people were less likely to murder you then.

What changed?
The same thing that usually happens, the people that took advantage of the situation in various unpleasant manners caused people to no longer be willing to be taken advantage of or put themselves in danger.

And no, I've never picked up a stranger hitch-hiking in the 40+ years I've been driving.

Because it was safe until people ruined it

SrRd_RacinG posted...

Have you ever picked up somebody?

Yes, and I would today if I saw someone. Last time I even saw a hitchhiker was prob 15 years ago. I picked him up and found out he'd been walking for hours from the airport trying to get home, as his ride from the airport fell through. I decided to drive 45 minutes out of my way to bring him home.

I've had mostly positive experiences hitchhiking and picking up hikers.

Once, close to 30 years ago, my girlfriend (at the time) and I got picked up by a drunk driver. We recognized how impaired he was almost immediately and when he asked where we were headed we pointed out a restaurant like 500 yards down the road lol. Ended up having to walk home that night no one else picked us up.

Another time maybe 17 years ago I picked up this dude outside New Bedford, MA who said he was heading to Boston, which is north. I was heading west to Providence. Told him I would detour up a different highway and take him as far as I could, but during conversation I determined this guy was cognitively impaired. I worried that he may be a missing person or that I may be taking him away from whatever support network he has, so I dropped him off at the next exit that had services and brought him to McDonald's. Offered to buy him some food which he took me up on, and I left him at McDonald's. I contacted the police when I left but I don't know what happened after.

Probably have hitchhiked or picked up a rider a couple dozen times in my life. Most people are pretty cool. Many offer to pay for gas or offer something in trade for the ride. I typically decline accepting any payment. If I was driving by myself I would pick up a hiker today, but if I had my kids with me I wouldn't. I'm not afraid of hikers but there's always that unknown factor and I wouldn't risk putting my kids in any danger.

Never did, but then I never carried a towel. Only recently willing to accept a ride from a fellow member of my church without knowing them, normally I would never enter a stranger's car.

I don't feel like my generation in my country was on average more easy-going about that than I was and am, say around the turn of the century, so I'm hesitant to cite a more dangerous world now as the reason.

Everyone used to drive drunk too.

My favorite story from my dad is him sneaking home late at night drunk. He got into a head on car crash at night. It was slow moving so they weren't really hurt but he got out of the car and ran for it. The other guy did the same.
The next morning his mom asked him where his car was, and then asked his dad where HIS car was. Turns out they both crashed into each other drunk in the night sneaking home.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Because people were less likely to murder you then.

This is actually statistically untrue. There were tons more unsolved highway murders and killers back in the day. The murder rate, and violent crime rate in general, has gone down over the years. It's just that people are more aware of the risk now, whereas back then people just didn't know or didn't care.

GameReviews posted...

This is actually statistically untrue. There were tons more unsolved highway murders and killers back in the day. The murder rate, and violent crime rate in general, has gone down over the years. It's just that people are more aware of the risk now, whereas back then people just didn't know or didn't care.

Pretty much. You're not more likely to be murdered, but you are more likely to hear about the murders that do happen, and that makes the possibility more frightening even if it's less likely.

I don't think it has anything to do with safety. People have been getting murdered during travel for thousands of years. Safety is just the excuse thrown on.

It's classism. Cars are almost a necessity in America. We have shit public infrastructure, and everything is built so far apart that you can either spend all day walking, or get a car and do your errand in under an hour.

When cars were less necessary, people were more understanding of the need to hitchhike. Now if you don't have a car you must be a dirty poor person who probably is only trying to steal or murder good hard working people. /s

People also just drive for fun less. Most people aren't just driving across country for a random road trip. Or seeing the countryside. They do that on their hour long commutes to work. When they drive they are going somewhere.

I have picked up hitchhikers before, but I'd rather be home enjoying what I have than out spending money, so usually when I see one I keep driving because I have places to be.

Yeah slack I agree with those points and will add that services like Uber and Lyft and the saturation of smartphones among the public have probably contributed to the decrease in hitchhikers as well

Calling a cab required a little more planning back in the day. Often had to schedule a ride. Now you can pretty much get a car to take you wherever, whenever. Particularly if you live near a well-populated area

There's a reason serial killers liked to target hitch hikers when possible.

GameReviews posted...

This is actually statistically untrue. There were tons more unsolved highway murders and killers back in the day. The murder rate, and violent crime rate in general, has gone down over the years. It's just that people are more aware of the risk now, whereas back then people just didn't know or didn't care.

Yeah, but statistics can be misleading. There were more incidents then because there was a much larger percentage of people doing it then.

In other words, it's a similar concept to how 1% of 1000 is more than 90% of 10.

There's probably a much higher chance of things going wrong now, if only because of the fact that the only people who are likely to be hitchhiking or picking up hitchhikers now are the crazies.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Yeah, but statistics can be misleading. There were more incidents then because there was a much larger percentage of people doing it then.

In other words, it's a similar concept to how 1% of 1000 is more than 90% of 10.

There's probably a much higher chance of things going wrong now, if only because of the fact that the only people who are likely to be hitchhiking or picking up hitchhikers now are the crazies.

that's why GameReviews used the term "murder rate" aka not gross numbers

SrRd_RacinG posted...

Have you ever picked up somebody?

I usually drive by too fast to notice a hitch hiker in time. If I had one of those double cab pick-up trucks, I'd just motion them to get in the back and shout through the window or something.

I used to pick up hitchhikers when I was 18/19. It was usually a hooker and I got to hear some sad stories.

I've been told people do it more often in Scotland.

But yeah all the crazy people had to ruin it. Probably there was a time it was more common in the states cause it was new so not enough time to see how it could be abused. And less people had cars. And with like someone said, classism, people are wary about picking people up too rather than just being wary of who is picking you up. It is unusual for someone to be traveling without a car these days where they need one in the states. So why are they?

In Scotland, it's a very small and safe country, a lot of people don't have cars, and hiking is a regular past time, so I could see it being less uncommon for those reasons.

I don't know why it was more acceptable? Maybe people were just more willing to help others and be trusting? I have hitchhiked before. There's always been a danger of getting murdered, raped, robbed, or kidnapped for both the hitchhiker and the driver.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Because people were less likely to murder you then.

doubt thats true, more likely people were just less afraid of being murdered

In addition to everything else, car-centric development has also just generally made people more antisocial. When you live in an area where the only people you see are your immediate neighbours and get around everywhere by hiding in a faceless metal box while everyone around you does the same, that erodes your sense of community, and in turn your ability to see strangers as other people. When you don't see strangers as people, that perception gets replaced by assumptions, stereotypes, and statistics taken out of context, and that makes them seem a lot scarier and less trustworthy.

Solid_Snake07 posted...

doubt thats true, more likely people were just less afraid of being murdered

I mean, before the serial killer fad of the 60s and 70s you were probably a lot safer hitchhiking than in the 60s and 70s. Just because the world was more violent doesn't mean hitchhiking was necessarily more violent.

People were more united back in the day. Today we have too many different beliefs, cultures, backgrounds etc.

Back in the day you a saw woman stranded you said that's somebody's mother, aunt, sister etc.

Today you see that same woman and say idk who the **** that is or what her intentions are plus I got enough **** im dealing with. Move, *****. Get out the way hoe.

"People were more united back in the day. Today we have too many different beliefs, cultures, backgrounds etc."

I like this idea although I believe it's due to the internet. I believe this immense cultural exchange is almost too much for us... We have enough trouble finding our way through our own mind, let alone trying to weed through other people's opinions.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Because people were less likely to murder you then.

there were some very specific serial killers back then whose main targets were hitchhikers, so i don't know about that

ConfusedTorchic posted...

there were some very specific serial killers back then whose main targets were hitchhikers, so i don't know about that

I'm pretty sure by back in the day he means back before serial killers ruined hitchhiking

there was probably people killing hitchhikers from the beginning tbh

lot easier to get away with it back when it was just people riding horses, too

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Because people were less likely to murder you then.

Was it less likely to happen or were people just less likely to find out about it?

In the past when someone went on a casual road trip their location and status were basically unknown for long periods of time, so if they were killed or kidnapped you might not know for a while, or how it happened.

With people perpetually connected online through their phones and other means now people suddenly disappearing is a lot more noticeable.

SrRd_RacinG posted...

"People were more united back in the day. Today we have too many different beliefs, cultures, backgrounds etc."

I like this idea although I believe it's due to the internet. I believe this immense cultural exchange is almost too much for us... We have enough trouble finding our way through our own mind, let alone trying to weed through other people's opinions.

That's not a good mindset to have at all. What does it have to do with hitch hiking anyway? The people of the world has always had multiple povs, cultures, etc. Shame on both you and teddy.

TigerTycoon posted...

Was it less likely to happen or were people just less likely to find out about it?

In the past when someone went on a casual road trip their location and status were basically unknown for long periods of time, so if they were killed or kidnapped you might not know for a while, or how it happened.

With people perpetually connected online through their phones and other means now people suddenly disappearing is a lot more noticeable.

This is probably most likely

I kinda have the oblivion NPC attitude.

"I don't know you and I don't care to know you" (so I just avoid people in general and don't view people outside "fellow human", doesn't matter who or what they are, I don't want to interfere with their life or them with mine).

But if they do interact with me then it's "Hello" (ie be Friendly, but try to exit that situation promptly).

So there is never a case where I will be interacting with a hitch hiker, so I'd never pick one up.

I do think it is just the perceive there are more crazy people free in the world. Some good person would probably pick them up, but that's not me. I also don't think I've ever seen a hitch hiker in my life.. So hard to do it if they don't exist.

Society also pretty much told us not to, with stranger danger and all that stuff. A lot of things that use to be acceptable or even expected, are frowned upon now.

Venixon posted...

This is probably most likely

I don't see how it's more likely to have been an issue for 100s of years and no one noticed until the last 50ish years over it not really being an issue until more recently. Like sure, there was probably hitchhikers getting killed before there were even cars and got rides from strangers on a buggy/carriage, but if it was really a common thing people would have realized it sooner.

Muscles posted...

I don't see how it's more likely to have been an issue for 100s of years and no one noticed until the last 50ish years over it not really being an issue until more recently. Like sure, there was probably hitchhikers getting killed before there were even cars and got rides from strangers on a buggy/carriage, but if it was really a common thing people would have realized it sooner.

People tend to romanticize things. Especially if nothing bad happened to them. That doesn't mean that nothing bad ever happened to anyone who didn't engage in risky behavior. Plus back before the internet, news didn't spread as fast and far as it does now.

Its like, if you partied when you were younger and never had an overdose, went to jail/rehab, or had a car accident, you'd remember that time fondly. As opposed to someone who struggled to kick a serious addiction, crashed a car, went to jail, or od'ed. They'd probably remember it a little less fondly.

Also, just because something is dangerous doesn't stop some people from doing it. I can't ever possibly understand what some people see in sky diving, spelunking, or base diving. But just because there are horror stories, doesn't stop other people from doing those things.

I also haven't hitched a ride since I was in my 20s. And that is only because I was lost and without a ride at all. My boyfriend proceeded to lecture me for a good 20 minutes when he heard about it. I did suffer serious consequences when I hitched a ride at 18 in . I won't go into what happened, but it was a bad night. I hitched in the mid 90s and early 2000s ftr.

Venixon posted...

Also, just because something is dangerous doesn't stop some people from doing it. I can't ever possibly understand what some people see in sky diving, spelunking , or base diving. But just because there are horror stories, doesn't stop other people from doing those things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC1AzL6qS58

FYI the actual term for exploring very narrow caves as a form of thrill seeking is actually called "caving", the popularized term of Cave Diving actually refers to the even more dangerous past time of exploring narrow underwater caverns while scuba diving.

That's why I mentioned spelunking specifically. Your not just trapped, you drown.