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== Long vs. short distance ==
If you're going for speed over a long distance (3+ hours), then the best bet is to stay on the interstates (designated by "I-##) instead of local highways. Try to stick to on-ramps that have truck stops, rest stops, or any other reason for drivers to stop there (restaurants, [[gas stations]], etc.) You can also look for rides at the truck stops themselves, but be discreet about it as some staffs or customers are rather unfriendly to hitchers and will rudely ask you to leave their property or call the police on you.
If you are only going a few hundred kilometers, you can often make better time on state or local roads. There are many more places to wait at, and there is much more potential traffic. Most of the traffic on the Interstate system won't be able to notice you while on the on-ramp. Even if you are going long distances, if you aren't concerned about making good time then getting off the interstates can be a very rewarding experience. Local highways and smaller roads will grant you a better picture of what local life is like in that area, and typically offer a greater variety of drivers.
== Police ==
Often, particularly close to major cities, the [[police ]] will ask you for photo ID, but as long as you have one with you (such as a passport) there shouldn't be a problem. Most of the time they will be friendly when you come up clean, sometimes even driving you to a better spot.
In most states, such as [[New Jersey]] and [[New York State]], on the East Coast and [[Nevada]] and [[Arizona]] in the West, there are laws [[law]]s against hitchhiking that are possible to be circumnavigated. Most often, the laws state that the hitchhiker may not "solicit a ride" in any way, i.e. showing a sign or a thumb to traffic. The police could ticket you for ''loitering'' or ''vagrancy''. If the police pass and see a hitchhiker walking or sitting by the side of the road without soliciting in any way, they may still stop to check IDs, but they technically have no reason to pull you over. As a result, the best result is to not use a sign or your thumb whenever an oncoming car looks like a police cruiser. The laws are enforced because of "traffic safety" reasons mostly, but police rarely give tickets to hitchhikers, they just check IDs for warrants whenever possible.
== Eat ==
=== Dumpster Diving ===
The United States among the top of wasteful societies (if not ''the'' top). The advent of urban sprawl has the side-effect of creating many opportunities for Dumpster Diving dumpster diving in urban areas. Grocery stores are prime targets for food ([[trash:Trader Joe's |Trader Joe's]] is really wasteful and has lots of organics). Grocery stores cannot sell packaged foods past their expiration date, and so throw them away in dumpsters behind the store. ''Check [[trash:United States of America|Trashwiki for detailed dumpster diving info of the United States]].''
