h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

advocating the right to own fire arms is not the same as carrying one while trying to get a ride. I support ffmike on owning guns, I own several and enjoy target shooting with them, but I can't keep them in my dorms because of uni regs and I strongly advocate education and firearm awareness.

You don't fancy coming over here and trying to chat to the IRA in the upcoming week do you?

Actually, just about every state in the USA allows carrying a concealed handgun. However, this is a matter of state (rather than federal) law, and the licensing requirements are different in every state. For example, Washington is a "shall issue" state: unless you've been convicted of a felony or fit one of a small number of denied categories, any Washington state resident can get a CPL (Concealed Pistol License). Texas, on the other hand, requires passing a course and an accuracy and safety test before you can get a license for a concealed weapon. And for the most parts, there's no reciprocity between states, though this is slowly changing. What that means is that my Washington CPL isn't valid in Oregon or Idaho, or most other states.

So, hitching with a concealed weapon is a bad idea in the USA unless you're planning to stick to just your own state and you're properly licensed. Otherwise you're asking for a felony bust and the possibility of some serious hard time.

Glad to see this topic generated such great conversation.

I agree that hand guns have a great potential for trouble and causing the kind of thing hitchers are trying to avoid. I asked the question to see if experienced hitchers do carry concealed weapons and how they deal with law enforcement when discovered.

I'm of the belief that if you're hitchin' to begin with, you take the chance of whatever happens--sort of the appeal of hitchin' anyway.

Anyother topics?

Strider

Glad to see this topic generated such great conversation.

I agree that hand guns have a great potential for trouble and causing the kind of thing hitchers are trying to avoid. I asked the question to see if experienced hitchers do carry concealed weapons and how they deal with law enforcement when discovered.

I'm of the belief that if you're hitchin' to begin with, you take the chance of whatever happens--sort of the appeal of hitchin' anyway.

Anyother topics?

Strider

Ah, so you too suffer from RRS?

Repeated Redundancy Syndrome ?

repeated redundeny syndrome?

repeated redundeny syndrome?

repeated redundeny syndrome?

*checks action on handgun*

Actually I was thinking of Repeated Reply Syndrome, but I think you figured it out OK.

Why is ffmike checking his weapon?

Maybe he's going to hitch down to San Diego and massacre the library administration department - they're responsible for my attack of RRS further up the page. I was on a public computer and every time I tried to post a reply I got a message telling me it had been blocked by "surfwatch". This is their anti-profanity thing that reads all your mail to make sure you're not going to offend anyone, but it also gets hung up on line-breaks, too many spaces etc.

I spent a very annoying half-hour playing around with the posting, trying to get it accepted, before I realised that the word 'sucks' in the heading was the problem. When I eventually succeeded in sending the reply I discovered that all my previous attempts had also got through and I was guilty of endlessly restating my position.

Do you think there are too many TLAs at the guide?

Hi, I'm new here and to the web. I've done a lot of HH, mostly in the NE US and have never had any problems nor heard of many around here. I didn't get my license until I was 30, so that's about 15 years I hitched everywhere.

It must suck having to use the library! I did it for awhile 'til I got too hooked and bought my own. By the way, what's a TLA ?

TLA - Three Letter Acronym

Do you need a license to hitch in the NE US or am I being wilfully hard of understanding?

That's driver's license! I waited so long because I was a heavy drinker and knew i would get a DWI. I ended up getting one anyway only a year or so after I got my license.

Anyway, I don't drink and drive anymore - it can be expensive!

No, expensive is when you bail out a friend of a friend who subsequently skips town leaving you with a charge for bankruptcy. I once got picked up in Virginia by some teens who wanted me to by them beer so stopped at a convenience store. When I came back out (sans beer) a police car had stopped, lights on, behind one of the occupants who was pissing in the parking lot (ha, like I was really going to open back seat for him.) They let me go, after I showed them my parachuting license and convinced them I was just trying to get home for xmas (which I was.) Trust me - drunks just want to be left alone...
A tip I read: when you realize you got picked up by a drunk - tell him you have to use the facilities - any drunk will respect that - then don't come back.

But how do you get your pack out of the car without arousing suspicion? And what if he says "Good idea, need to get rid of a few beers myself" and follows you in? I've had some very wierd encounters with men who pick up hitchhikers and then follow them into the bathroom.

Still, no harm done and sphincter intact. Unlike Cloughie and his wings of fire, he he.

Wauw!
I´ve just read 16 weeks worth of thoughts on the topic hitchhiking (I was beginning to think I was the only one left on the planet who had an opinion about this!)
I had no idea that so many Americans hitched! I was always told NEVER EVER GO THERE when visiting.
Couldn´t stop laughing when I read your considerations on buying beer for underage or other boozers. In Denmark we drink when we please and don´t need strangers to buy us anything (unless we're broke!)
I have quite a lot of experience in Europe, though (female, 26, Danish, thumbs up for 8 years). About I year ago I calculated that I´d ridden approximately 16,000 kilometers in other people´s cars - sometimes alone, sometimes with various girlfriends.
Carrying a gun in Europe would be almost impossible, as they're really hard to come by.
I´m against any kind of weapon, really. I agree that it somehow destabilizes your hiking karma, and being a woman I would risk having the weapon used against me instead.
Finally, I believe that walking along the roadside is dangerous - people freak when they see a person where there´s only supposed to be vehicles! - as well as stupid. Standing at a convenient spot is everything - why leave, unless you´re told about an even better spot?
That´s all for now.
Liv

Liv, here in the US, we have speed limits, usually 55MPH on county highways. It is illegal to hitch or walk on the interstates and I have never worried about getting hit(unless I was drunk). I used to hitch mostly on the county routes, sometimes I would wind up walking 20 miles to get somewhere or back home without getting a ride. If I had just stood there, I wouldn't have gotten anywhere. I'm sure it's different in Europe.

Luckily, my hitching days are over. I sometimes miss the adventure though. It's just not the same to drive. But it is safer, quicker, and more reliable.

Hey Liv!

Bienvenue, Wilkommen, G'day etc

Nice to see a new face, and nice to see that you went to the HitchHiking entry before doing anything else at h2g2. I stopped by your homepage to leave a welcome posting but the PTBs (Powers That Be) seem to have neglected to leave you a button for me to click on.

My home page is a bit out of date but if you go to it you can find links to a) a later version of this one, and b) another submitted entry on "the magic thumb". All input from yourself and the other people in this forum much appreciated as they must be getting close to coming up for review.

Which part of Denmark?