Hitchhiking and runaways?

Bhautala

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A young hitchicker plays a role in my new WIP, but as I've never hitchhicked myself, I forsee making her authentic on the page a bit of a struggle. She's 15 or so—a runaway—and gets picked up by a grandma and her grandson on their way south across the US. (The grandson is the MC, and the story is told from his perspective, first person POV) Also, the book is Middle Grade, so the girl's background, language choices, reasons for running away, and overall behavior will have to be fairly g-rated, though I think I can make implications the reader can establish on their own based on maturity leves, etc.
I'm looking for anyone willing to offer insight on hitchhiking experiences.
Thanks!
 
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Marlys

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I hitchhiked sometimes in my teens. Got a lot more rides with concerned people than ones who felt threatening--most would lecture me about hitching alone. Sometimes drivers would be a bit odd. I remember one telling me at length about people having animal spirits, and ways you could tell just by looking at them which spirit they had. Others just seemed bored by their long drives and were glad to have someone to talk to, like one guy who was seriously hyped up about his new business and told me everything about it. The evangelical types would talk to you about Jesus. Racists also felt free to express themselves--their car, their rules. I didn't argue with anybody. I was polite and a good listener in exchange for the ride.

I do have friends who had scarier experiences and felt lucky to be able to jump out at a stoplight or when the driver stopped for gas, but nothing like that happened to me.

If your WIP is set nowadays, your teen might protect herself by snapping pictures of the cars that stop for her on her phone, and texting them to a friend.
 

Bhautala

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If your WIP is set nowadays, your teen might protect herself by snapping pictures of the cars that stop for her on her phone, and texting them to a friend.
This is Brilliant. Thank you!
 

Siri Kirpal

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I hitchhiked a few times in college. (Did not tell my parents until after the fact.) The only "bad" experience was ending up in a van where people were passing around a joint. Few if any of the people who picked me up asked any questions or said anything. But then, I was going back up the hill to college on all occasions, and those who took me up the hill knew we could get off the hill easily, but not back up if it were late at night.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

Cindyt

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My boyfriend and I hitchhiked to Atlanta to become a part of the Great Speckled Bird's hippy culture. I was 14 and he was 16. Two men in a luxe car picked us up on I-985 and took us all the way to 14th Street. We weren't a bit scared. Now i shiver at what could have happened.
 

Underdawg47

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I was homeless for nearly a year in my early 20s mostly living in between New Orleans and Houma Louisiana. I hitchhiked a lot going as far southwest as Austin Texas, as far southeast as Panama Florida and as far northeast as Richmond Virginia and as far northwest as Paduca Kentucky. I was very hesitant about hitchhiking at first. A friend and I were working in one of those horrible slave labor camps deep in the swamps when we decided to hitch a ride for the first time out of desperation. It got easier to do after a few times, but every time I did it, I was a bit scared. I remember being told the horror stories and sometimes I would wonder if I could trust the person who had given me a ride. I learned that the early morning commute was the best time to catch a ride and the onramps to interstates were the best place to catch a ride for me. Single men on their way to work are more prone to pick up a hitchhiker from my experience. Women rarely if ever would stop to pick up a hitchhiker, yet women were more likely to give money to a panhandler. Most of the people who gave me a ride felt they were doing a good deed. many men gave me a ride in the morning rush hours so they could ride in the HOV lane. Most of the men who gave me a ride we gay. Some of the gay men who gave me a ride tried to sexually take advantage of me, some turned out to be drunk, most were just friendly and wanted someone to talk to while driving. I rarely if ever stuck out my thumb to hitch hike. Most people stopped to give me a ride just because I was standing on the onramp or walking down the side of the road with a duffle bag. The best gimmick I had for getting a ride was to pull out a road map and look confused. The worst experiences was hitchhiking and getting stranded in a blizzard miles from any town, or having a guy grabbing at me sexually and having to jump out of a moving car. I met a few runaways when I was homeless. A lot of them were gay men who had been kicked out of their home. I never ran into many female runaways. The ones I did meet tended to survive by becoming a prostitute or being taken in by a sugar daddy. Not many women sold their plasma, or went to day labor offices. I myself never saw any young women hitch hiking by themselves, the ones I did meet were hitch hiking with at least one male.
 

Bhautala

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These are amazing experiences! I am so amazed at your courage—all of you. I never would have the guts.
Thank you for sharing with me!
 

jclarkdawe

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Big changes between now and the 1970s. But a couple of rules to be aware of. First is you can be on on-ramps but no further. Hitching on interstates is forbidden except for in, I believe, Minnesota. Good chance of getting busted if you get caught on the interstate. Truckers used to be good for rides, but a bunch of rules has pretty much killed that off. And many trucks in fleets have GPS so they can tell when the truck stops. Manchester, NH used to give a free haircut to any longhair caught hitching in their town.

Depending upon the mood of the cop, it's not unusual for a cop to stop and run the ID of a hitchhiker, especially if they look underage. Great way to find people with outstanding warrants. On the flip side, cops can be good for a ride, and will often take you to a safer location to hitch, again, depending upon mood.

In its heyday, it was possible to cross the country quicker hitching than you could drive it, because of sleeping times.

You're never sure what you're going to get for a driver (or that matter a passenger -- I pick up hitchhikers when I see them -- They're often entertaining, and I figure they need the help. One of the most entertaining was a preacher serving his ministry by hitching the country.). There are lots of stories about the dangers, but no one I knew got into trouble that couldn't be handled. A couple of guys I know probably legitimately had Penthouse letter experiences.

A new expensive car will very rarely stop. Older cars and pickups tend to be the best. Never go with three or four dudes, and if you're a girl, two dudes is one too many. If you're a girl, you dress down a bit. You don't want to look too sexy. Guys, on the other hand, can't be too grungy.

Location for trying to get pickup is important. Cars need to be going slowly, and accelerating. Good shoulder for them to pull off in, and lighting if at night. The better drivers will drop you in good spots as many of the drivers who pick up hitchhikers are aware of the problems. You want a balance between too much and too little traffic.

A grandmother and grandson picking up a hitchhiker would be very unusual. However, a young looking girl is possible.

Young runaways often try to avoid hitchhiking these days. Too many chances of getting stopped by the police. It's better to find someone going your way and getting a ride with them. There are places in most cities where kids hang out and you can hook up for a ride. It's not uncommon to trade a blowjob for a ride. Many girl runaways are sexual abuse victims and a blowjob isn't as bad as it would seem to most people. That's why many of them end up as prostitutes.

Runaways are usually victims of physical, sexual, or mental abuse or have a substance abuse problem or a spur of the moment dumb decision. The situation has become unable to be survived any longer and running seems to be the only way out. Many runaways these days are rather damaged individuals. The runaways I've had to deal with are hard kids to find a solution for. They've learned that the best way to solve a problem is to runaway.

Back in the day, one approach to get a ride was thumb out with one hand and a bottle of a (cheap) Dago red wine in the other. Of course, that didn't say much for the condition of the driver by the time you got to where you were going, but drinking and driving wasn't as bad as it is now.

Jim Clark-Dawe
 

King Neptune

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I hitchhiked a few hundred thousand miles a number of years ago. I rarely saw runaways, and I got the impression that they only hitchhiked locally with the same state. I regarded it as an inexpensive, fast, an safe way to travel, but some people, especially women, had trouble. A woman I know asked me how she might avoid problems, and I suggested that if she ever felt uncomfortable, she should pull out a large knife and start cleaning her fingernails. I later asked it how it was, and she said that she only felt uncomfortable with one guy, so she did clean her fingernails, and he dropped her off shortly thereafter.
 

Siri Kirpal

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Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Mine experiences in the post upstream were in the early 1970s.

Someone mentioned the police as both a potential problem and a potential source of a ride. Also in the 1970s, I was in San Francisco trying to visit a Zen mission. They weren't able to take me in, so I went out at night on my own to look for a hotel. Walked into one of the worst areas of SF...and I was a young woman wearing a red jacket. A police car was the first car I'd spotted since I'd walked into this area. They stopped in the middle of the street and looked at me, and I stopped on the middle of the sidewalk and looked at them. Then I walked over to them and said, "I think I'm lost." They took me to the nearest YWCA hotel.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal
 

WriterDude

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I did a charity hitchhike to Paris in the nineties. Not the same as running away but the intersections were no less cold and dark. We travelled in pairs and found the girls seemed to have better luck than the guys getting a ride. I don't suppose it helped that the good will of the few willing drivers was stretched across several universities, as hundreds of students raced to the continent with no money. Happy times.