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, 2006]] Hitchhiking (also known as lifting, thumbing, hitching, autostop or thumbing up a ride) is a means of Transportation that is gained by asking people (usually strangers) for a ride in their Automobile to travel a distance that may either be a short or long distance. The latter may require many rides from different people. LEGAL STATUS In many countries in the world, hitchhiking is not illegal. However, many countries have laws that prohibit hitchhiking or picking up hitchhikers at some places such as on Highways , near Prison s, to far up on highway onramps, at or near dangerous locations, and other places. In The United States of America, some local governments have banned hitchhiking. SIGNALING METHOD The hitchhiker's method of signaling to drivers differs around the world. In the U.S., one would point his thumb up, while in some places in South America one displays to an oncoming car the back of her hand with the index finger pointing up. In Poland, the hand is held flat, and waved. In India, the hand is waved with the palm facing downwards. A hitchhiker may also hold a sign displaying their destination and/or the languages spoken. A more recent method is to go to websites and arrange lifts beforehand, without soliciting directly from the road. This way of transport is a modern way of Ridesharing / Carpooling . Often nothing more than comunication and entertainment of the driver is given or performed in exchange for the lift, but in some places, such as parts of Central Asia , hitchhikers in cargo Truck s, especially foreigners, are expected to pay for the ride, usually some portion of the usual bus fare for the trip. REASONS , 1977]] Many consider hitchhiking dangerous, and wonder why people Travel as such. There are many reasons, including necessity due to lack of transportation, little or no money for Public Transit , public transit unavailable, infrequent or unreliable public transit, or he/she can’t drive himself for various reasons. Hitching, for some, may be the only way to get where they need to go. For many, hitchhiking is recreation. There are also locales which are relatively safe enough for anyone to hitchhike. For some, hitching is a way to meet interesting people, companionship, or to challenge oneself. Some, mostly the very active ones, who thumb for the love of it belong to club: http://www.autostopguide.com Hitch-hikers Guide to Europe,USA, 1200+ elocations and service areas, rest areas and truck stops http://abgefahren.hitchbase.com - Abgefahren e.V. - Deutsche Autostop Gesellschaft http://www.avp.travel.ru/ - Academy Of Free Travels http://www.alien.ru/~blast/ - Barnaul Autostop League http://e67.times.lv/ - Latvian Hitch-hiking Club "E67" http://www.msha-club.ru/ - Moscow Hitch-hiking School http://pasl.spb.ru/ - Saint Petersburg autostop league (RUS) http://autostop.lt/ - Vilnius Hitchhiking Club http://www.pass-europe.eu/ - The European Hitchhikers Engine SAFETY Many millions of rides are given every year without incident from either the thumber or the person giving the lift. The level of danger is grossly overestimated. Safety ought to be high priority for both the driver and the hitchhiker. The hiker should always use caution and common sense before getting into a car with a stranger, always remain alert, and be ready to defend himself. The driver ought to mind the same advice given above. Regardless whether you’re the driver or the hitcher, you should be concerned the safety of the other and general public. Don’t hitchhike or pick someone up at a spot if stopping will endanger others. SPORT AND LEISURE For many hitchhiking is a great adventure and challenge. Each year hundreds of students take part in a sponsored hitch to Morocco or Prague in aid of Link Community Development. In 2007, 782 people hitched the 1,600 miles to Morocco and raised almost £340,000 to improve the quality of education in Africa. There were fifty hitchhikers supported by several MEPs called Eurizons that did the Tour for Global Responsibility. They traveled over 2500km. In Eastern Europe, especially Lithuania and Russia hitchhiking is an adventure sport. There are clubs, hitchhiking schools, and competitions. From 1992 to 1993, Russian hitchhiker Alexey Vorov made a first trip around the world, hitchhiking by cars, planes and boats. In January 2007, Race to Paris, an event sponsored by the University of St. Andrews Charities Campaign, involved 197 students hitchhiking from Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland to Paris, France. A hitchhiker is also a type of letterbox, which is part of an outdoor hobby known as letterboxing. In this hobby, the hitchhiker (a stamp and a logbook) are discovered in a letterbox by a letterboxer, and are removed, to be placed in another letterbox elsewhere. HITCHHIKING IN POPULAR CULTURE Literature , Gaspésie , Québec , Canada .]] The writer . The protagonist of Tom Robbins ' '' Even Cowgirls Get The Blues '', Sissy Hankshaw, becomes legendary as a hitchhiker in part because of her unusually large thumbs. British comedian Tony Hawks writes about hitchhiking around Ireland with a refrigerator as the result of a drunken bet in ''Round Ireland With a Fridge''. An in-depth analysis on the practice of hitchhiking in Poland was published, aptly called ''Autostop Polski'' ("Polish hitchhiking"). Autostop Polski details from from Korporacja Ha!art, in Polish, retrieved Dec 04, 2006. Film
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SEE ALSO
FAMOUS HITCHHIKERS
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