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|currency = American Dollar ($)
|BW = US
|map= <map lat='39.44525647027036' lng='-98.6623687744132' zoom='3' view='0' />
|hitch = <rating country='us' />
}}
== Culture ==
Many Americans have a limited worldview. (I can say this because I am one.) We think there are two places in the world: America and other places. Don't waste your time explaining that "American" is an incorrect demonym. And get used to our senseless system of measurement. In fact, enjoy it. It's a part of our culture.
More often you will be picked up by really cool people, and often dropped off exactly at the point of your destination, as hitchhiker [[User:Guaka|Guaka]]'s experience shows, for example.
=== Cars ===
:''Driving in the United States is similar to driving in Canada, but very different from driving in Europe. It is not uncommon for Americans to drive more than an hour each way to work, and 77 percent of Americans drive alone to their jobs, while an additional 11 percent carpool... Most states allow people to drive unaccompanied once they have reached the age of 16, and all states require that one obtain a driver's license before they may operate a motor vehicle.'' -[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_in_the_United_States Wikipedia: Driving in the United States]
There are more than 250 million cars registered vehicles in the USA, the most of any country. You Everyone has a car, and gas is so cheap that people drive everywhere. As a result there are a lot of roads and highways. Sometimes you may need to drastically change your technique to accomodate to accommodate unfamiliar infastructureinfrastructure. Sometimes it can be hard to find a place with slow traffic! Although traffic is heavy, hitchhiking is also hard because nobody trusts somebody with no car. (Why don't you have a car? There must be something wrong with you.) It would help to look like a foreigner, but don't go so far as to wave a foreign flag around. Hitchhiking is not as common as in Europe and Latin America, so expect to have to explain yourself, possibly to the police. (See the section on police below).
== Transportation system ==
=== Interstates ===
[[File:2006-interstate-map.png|right|A map of the interstate system in 2006. ]]
An 'interstate', also known as an '''expressway''', '''freeway''', or (confusingly) '''highway''', is a large, multilane road that covers vast distances, and passes through major cities. If you aren't planning on going to the countryside, you probably won't need to stray far from the interstate system.
Interstates are designated on maps by "I-..." and have road signs [http://hitchwiki.org/en/File:InterstateSign.svg#file like this]. Even-numbered routes run from west to east and are numbered from south to north. For example, [[I-10]] runs across the south from [[L.A.]] to [[Jacksonville, FL]], and I-90 across the North from [[Seattle]] to [[Boston]]. Likewise, odd-numbered expressways start with [[I-5]] along the west coast (Seattle to L.A.) and I-95 along the east coast ([[Maine]] to [[Miami]]).
The main interstates have two or three numbers, as in I-8 or I-76. Offshoots or ring roads will have a preceeding digit, for example, I-295, which runs along I-95.
=== License plates ===
You may also wish to try asking for rides at smaller local gas stations, but you are unlikely to make as much progress doing this.
=== Getting out of big cities ===
You may find yourself in very sprawled out cities like LA or Phoenix, then try your luck on Craigslist! I (http://hitchwiki.org/en/User:Nora) crossed the US and found a few rides on Craiglist, messaging people who offer rides and asking if they would take me for free. Probably works best as a foreigner and a girl, but is worth a try. And maybe you can 'pay' in stories or music!
== Police/Laws ==
Tourists who intend to cross into the USA by hitchhiking should note that the US immigration department will log that you have been hitchhiking, should they discover that you are. This log will be visible to any guard who subsequently checks your immigration status. If you decide to leave and enter the USA again, it may make your entry back into the USA more difficult if it is not a hitchhiker friendly state.
== Personal Experiences ==
''I hitchhiked from Panama to the US, intending to go through the whole of the US by hitchhiking with my little brother. I cannot recommend to hitchhike in pairs. It takes _days_ to find rides. We looked like regular guys, did 20k+ miles in more than 10 countries. If you do it, do it alone.'' Summer '14
''I crossed the US from Boston to San Francisco the southern way. The north east is tough, prepare for some waits and looks as if you were not worth anyone's attention. Luckily it gets better soon! Texas was the best state for me, lots of rides even from women, and basically no waites. Also California is pretty good to hitchhike, though more tourists. To all girls - it's definitely safe enough in my opinion, though I was asked for sex a few times by people not understanding hitchhiking much. And in general - for me waites for longer than in Europe (when alone I have to hardly wait longer than 10 minutes ever), but still the longest wait during the whole trip were ~2 hours at a bad spot. [[user:Nora]]
''
== Links ==
[[es:Estados Unidos]]
[[fr:États-Unis d'Amérique]]