Would you hitch hike to conserve your car?

[xpc]

This thread is turning into a list of horror stories including mine,

In 2006 two years before quitting my job and moving here I bought a new Chevy Caviler for $10,000, it gets 35 mph. I made double payment and paid it off in 24 months then moved here knowing that it may be my last new car in a ss lifestyle, I also bought an older cheap pickup for a spare vehicle and hauling but only insure one at a time because it cost $30 a month per vehicle.

I know I said I would build / modify a 3 wheel basket bike to run on a electric motor and with the temperate winters here in the mid-south it would be usable all year around, but the roads are not conducive to its use because of no road shoulders and the high speed homicidal cell phone drivers.

I guess if I got to the point of not being able to drive I would look into the organizations that offer free rides to the grocery store and and such.

 

[FarmerChick]

No.
Never have-never will. Offer a ride OR hitchhike myself.
I figure it was their own fault that they are on foot, so they can figure their own way out. I don't wanna hear anything about car troubles not being their own fault. 99.999% of automobile related trouble is from a lack of proper maintenance. I figure it was their choice to not maintain that vehicle properly, and also to not have second plan in case of a real breakdown, so it is their problem to figure a way out.
That's why God gave each one of us TWO feet.

Your compassion is overwhelming. God bless you.

Hey at least he might not have killed someone!!

You say this to him and let this slide?
Several years ago E was driving home and his dad was with him. They were in an old Ford Bronco. It was pitch black out and raining. Apparantly some guy was hitch hiking and had his thumb out along the edge of the road. The idiot was dressed in ALL BLACK! So of course, E couldn't see him! The Bronco's passenger side mirror collided with said Hitcher's thumb....at 55 MPH. That was when E realized there was a guy out there thumbing for a ride! FIL said, "Are ya going to stop?" E said, "Nope!"




Hmm.......

 

[FarmerChick]

No.
Never have-never will. Offer a ride OR hitchhike myself.
I figure it was their own fault that they are on foot, so they can figure their own way out. I don't wanna hear anything about car troubles not being their own fault. 99.999% of automobile related trouble is from a lack of proper maintenance. I figure it was their choice to not maintain that vehicle properly, and also to not have second plan in case of a real breakdown, so it is their problem to figure a way out.
That's why God gave each one of us TWO feet.

I'll remember your philosophy when you arrive at my hospital.....

Your own fault for not attending to your health, so you can figure out how to fix your own heart attack, kidney stone, prostate enlargement,cancer! As we know, 99.999% of health related trouble is life style related and lack of proper health maintenance. I will figure it was your choice to not maintain your health and not to have a second plan in case of a real breakdown in your health, so it will be your problem to figure out how to restart your heart, alleviate your pain and remove that stone from your ureter, or cut out your own cancers.

That's why God gave you a brain, after all!

Hmmm... you say this to him and be all sarcastic and let this slide? If this hitcher showed up in your hospital and said the driver ran off....what would you be saying about that driver?

Several years ago E was driving home and his dad was with him. They were in an old Ford Bronco. It was pitch black out and raining. Apparantly some guy was hitch hiking and had his thumb out along the edge of the road. The idiot was dressed in ALL BLACK! So of course, E couldn't see him! The Bronco's passenger side mirror collided with said Hitcher's thumb....at 55 MPH. That was when E realized there was a guy out there thumbing for a ride! FIL said, "Are ya going to stop?" E said, "Nope!"


I was horrified to read this and not one person acknowledged it.
Whew.

______
To Quail--to me this just isn't right.
2 men hit someone and they aren't strong enough to see if they didn't hurt this person terribly??

or at least report the incident?

This one is just too much for me!

 

[FarmerChick]

This thread is turning into a list of horror stories including mine,

In 2006 two years before quitting my job and moving here I bought a new Chevy Caviler for $10,000, it gets 35 mph. I made double payment and paid it off in 24 months then moved here knowing that it may be my last new car in a ss lifestyle, I also bought an older cheap pickup for a spare vehicle and hauling but only insure one at a time because it cost $30 a month per vehicle.

I know I said I would build / modify a 3 wheel basket bike to run on a electric motor and with the temperate winters here in the mid-south it would be usable all year around, but the roads are not conducive to its use because of no road shoulders and the high speed homicidal cell phone drivers.

I guess if I got to the point of not being able to drive I would look into the organizations that offer free rides to the grocery store and and such.

You said it right there. Cell phone users and high speed Moms racing to and from schools and people just flying at warp speeds out there. Those are my roads also..LOL----no shoulders. I sure wish NC would start putting big bike lanes on roads. I am rural and if you bike you take your life in your hands.

yea, there is always organizations to help with grocery deliveries and car rides if needed. many places offer that.

 

[BeccaOH]

I've never "hitched" but was picked up on HWY 75 in TN when my college roommate and I broke down. The driver was a businessman and it turned out okay.

I've also been in the car a couple of times when my cousin picked up a hitchhiker. He seems to have good sense about who to pick up and has done it several times with no harm.

I would not pick up a hitcher, though. It is too risky, especially for a woman to do.

I always think back to my cousin who was hitching across the US before he was to go into the army in 1979 or 80. He disappeared. His bones were later found in AZ. The murder has yet to be solved.


ETA: Living in the country like I do really prohibits me from using horse or bike as alternative transportation. I'm 8 miles over hills from the closest store and 13 miles from my work. Even the Amish near me hire automobile transportation to get to jobs and stores. So their lifestyle isn't necessarily environmental friendly all the time.

 

[me&thegals]

BeccaOH--I'm so sorry about your cousin! I can only imagine the horror of living through that loss and discovery.

I think hitchhiking is just particularly vulnerable situation. One person has a loss of control because they are managing a vehicle. The other person has no control because they are stuck inside a moving vehicle. Just a very out-of-control situation. I'm sure 99% of hitchhiking ends well, but if there's a psycho out there, then I guess a hitchhiker (or vice versa) looks like a nice target.

<shudder>

 

[xpc]

ETA: Living in the country like I do really prohibits me from using horse or bike as alternative transportation. I'm 8 miles over hills from the closest store and 13 miles from my work. Even the Amish near me hire automobile transportation to get to jobs and stores. So their lifestyle isn't necessarily environmental friendly all the time.

Back in the mid-90's I spend almost a year working at an Amish cheese plant near Shipshewana Indiana, I was installing experimental automated long horn cheese making equipment. All the Amish workers either used horse or bicycles and many got injured on the small country roads, one happened when i was there when a truck got too close to a bike rider (no road shoulders) and scooped him off the bike with the big side mirror, he was hurt pretty bad and was out of commission for a month.

 

[FarmerChick]

Predators hope for hitchers. Extreme easy targets. It says--come take me and do what you want. I voluntarily give myself to your will.
Hmm....

 

[FarmerChick]

yea I biked for a while on my roads.
many times drivers didn't give me space.
I stopped...before the problem ever happened.

between being occupied with their lives and troubles, and cell phones, and eating in the car, and putting on makeup....rarely do drivers truly see "alot of the road" at one time. So fast something can happen.

 

[big brown horse]

ETA: Living in the country like I do really prohibits me from using horse or bike as alternative transportation. I'm 8 miles over hills from the closest store and 13 miles from my work. Even the Amish near me hire automobile transportation to get to jobs and stores. So their lifestyle isn't necessarily environmental friendly all the time.

Back in the mid-90's I spend almost a year working at an Amish cheese plant near Shipshewana Indiana, I was installing experimental automated long horn cheese making equipment. All the Amish workers either used horse or bicycles and many got injured on the small country roads, one happened when i was there when a truck got too close to a bike rider (no road shoulders) and scooped him off the bike with the big side mirror, he was hurt pretty bad and was out of commission for a month.

That is really horrible. Everyone just needs to slow down!! On our country roads (there is a nice shoulder too) they drive so fast my hair and my horse's mane are blown straight up. AND they don't even bother to scoot over just a bit in case my horse gets spooked by their high rate of speed. The speed is 40 mph but I swear they are going 60 at least. What is everyone's hurry???!!