Hitching

[Styles]

I was at a party in Brae last night and after crashing there had to make the way back to the toon as did not take the car. I started walking with the fine day. But when I got to the depressing long cames with nothing but pit banks to see I tried hitching. I had a hell o a lot o cars go by untill some good person stopped to give me a lift. I was suprised about the ammount o folk that did not stop. Surley in Shetland you dont have to worry about picking up a serial killer! I was just wondering what other peoples views are on stopping for folk or no?

[Njugle]

After doing a fair amount of night-oot or gf related hitching as a teen i promised myself i would always stop for hitchers, whoever and wherever, when i could drive.

 

Gradually as the years went on this became reduced to those that i knew or "liked the look of" as opposed to those i "didn't like the look of" and now it is a rare occurance.

Having said that i picked up a tourist hitchhiker about ten days ago. She'd missed her bus. She was from Siberia and has been studying English in London. What are the chances of meeting someone from Siberia around here?

 

So, it can be interesting.

 

By the way styles, you might have more chance of a lift if you didn't have that knife in your gub.

 

 

[Styles]

That knife is a put off, probally didnt help I was dragging the body of the last lift either.

[breeksy]

I generally pick up hitchers, if I have room in the car. The last time was about two weeks ago - I picked up a hitcher and half a mile down the road there was another - but I had no room. I have a list of two that I avoid, although neither seems to be around/hitching any more.

 

I have even once seen a bus drive past someone instead of picking them up, so I turnd the car and went back to see if they needed a lift.. its fine if you have plenty of time.

[david]

I don't pick up hitchers.

 

They'll either speak too much (thus annoying me as I wont be able to concentrate on the radio, and err, driving), or they wont speak enough and there will be an akward silence.

[Pooks]

I hitched a lot when I was younger and generally found that the Brae > Lerwick route was pretty poor when attempting to get a lift. Hitching to/from Sumburgh was generally never a problem. The Westside seemed to be a pretty accommodating lot too. For some reason from North to Toon was always a problem.

 

Hitching back from the various Isles was the best though. Folk were too scared not to give you a lift. Yell, Whalsay, wherever, just tap on their window as you are approaching the other end and ask for a lift. Never had a situation where someone turned me down.

[BigMouth]

I am always worried that the driver might be drunk so I walk instead.

 

Of course I am only joking

 

Most effective way of getting a lift down south is to carry a crash helmet. Everyone who is anyone had a bike at some stage and they will give you a lift.

 

The rest will probably be Jehovahs Witnesses so you had a lucky escape when they drove past.

[Colin]

Gave up on driving (voluntarily) about 12 years ago and it's amazing the number of people I know (even neighbours) who will not stop to give me a lift (No.. I didn't give up washing etc. as well!!).

Strange thing is that they think nothing of asking ME for assistance when they need it.

 

"Well, the first thing you gotta do is start taking some excercise. Try walking.." Generally enough to put them off..

[BigMouth]

Gave up on driving (voluntarily) about 12 years ago and it's amazing the number of people I know (even neighbours) who will not stop to give me a lift (No.. I didn't give up washing etc. as well!!).

Strange thing is that they think nothing of asking ME for assistance when they need it.

 

"Well, the first thing you gotta do is start taking some excercise. Try walking.." Generally enough to put them off..

 

I scrapped the car a while ago. When you live in the town it seems fairly pointless having one. Of course you hear all sorts of excuses like it's uphill to work. My reply is that it is downhill back then! The other excuse is that they need it to do their weekly shopping to which I ask who makes them shop weekly.

 

I am in Glasgow at the moment and I just caan't believe the amount of seriously obese people here. No wonder so many people are dying of starvation in this world. There's plenty of food to go around but these greedy buggers seem to want to have everyone elses share too.

 

No-one walks whilst they are on the escalators - useful exercise. They even stand still on the down escalator!

[Mag]

Like Njugle, I did lots of hitching when I was young, and now almost always pick up hitchers in return. We are so luckly that this is a pretty safe thing to do in Shetland. It's environmentally friendly (a big flexible car pool) and you meet lots of interesting people (and the occassional drunk bore).

 

The only time I got scared hitching was in New Zealand when I got a lift with a maniac driver. I made an excuse to get out of the car to go to the loo and didn't come back.

 

The only time I regretted picking up a hitcher was when my children were peerie and they found a drunk we picked up a bit loud and strange. That's the worst thing that's happened in the 25 years I've been offering lifts. I've met lots of interesting people, some people who didn't have much to say for themselves, and I've made some new friends. So I'd commend picking up hitchers to anyone in Shetland.

[JustMe]

BigMouth wrote

 

I scrapped the car a while ago. When you live in the town it seems fairly pointless having one. Of course you hear all sorts of excuses like it's uphill to work. My reply is that it is downhill back then! The other excuse is that they need it to do their weekly shopping to which I ask who makes them shop weekly.

 

Well said that man...and Colin as well. A car is not always essential in life. Certainly for those living in the town and able to get to their work. The "weekly shop" thing does not add up........one taxi ride home with the shopping works out way cheaper than running a car.

 

That said I hitched a fair bit in my teens and twenties......30+ as well and if I am driving I will pick up hitch hikers........sometimes go a bit out of my way to get them home or to a better hitching spot.

[Rasmie]

we had a colleague who sold his car and proceeded to ask his mates for a lift. He then bragged how much he was saving. His mates soon stopped giving him lifts as they were then subsidising his travel. I always stop to pick up proper hitchhikers (e.g. tourists) or people that are obviously not nomally hiking (the high heels gives them away..............well maybe) but am reluctant to pick-up the regulars.

[muddybay-kyebeoy]

As a young, completely skint teenager who had lost his wallet, I was hitching near Bergen once where about 100 cars passed me before an elderly couple stopped and waved me into a nearby petrol station. When hearing that I was going much further than they were going, they took me down the road 10 miles then gave me 100 Kroner (a tenner) and took me to the bus station. And they refused to give me their address so I could reimburse them at a later date - kindness itself!!!

 

I have never forgotten that act, and so will pick up hitchhikers when possible.

[Marooned in Maywick]

If I've room I'll usually stop for hitch hikers as I'd hope for someone else to do likewise if I was ever in the same position.

Also I'm not bothered if they speak away or stay quiet - nae smokin' tho.

[Twerto]

I remembr the funniest hitch hiker i pisked up was a quite upper class lady.. who by all accounts had a huge arguement with her husband, and was on a mission to prove to him that she could hitch to town and didnt need his help.. I was in scilence for most fo the jorney jsut laughing to myself as she ranted on..

 

then there was the lady you was hitiching to the yell ferry with her chinese takeway.. i would hate to see how gentieled the sauce had become by the time she got it home.