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:'''''For specific information on each state please check the links at the bottom of this page.'''''
:''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... Most states allow people to drive unaccompanied once they have reached the age of 16.'' -[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_in_the_United_States Wikipedia: Driving in the United States]
=== License plates ===
Every state issues its own specific car plates, and most states have several different styles. In some states, the license plate will also show the county of residence. This can be helpful if you spot a car that might be going in the same direction as you. It might also be helpful to write down the license plate number in case of foul play.
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|hitch = <rating country='us' />
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[[File:Kasper-hitch-nh.jpg|thumb|250px|[[User:guaka|guaka]]<small><sup>[http://guaka.org/ site], [[User talk:guaka|wikitalk]]</sup></small> hitching in New England, taken by [[User:Amylin|amylin]], September 2007]]
=== Cars ===
There are more than 250 million registered vehicles in the USA, the most of any country. 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 change your technique to accommodate unfamiliar infrastructure. 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).
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.
== Methods for catching rides ==
''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|Nora]]
''These experiences are from a voyage undertaken during Autumn of 2023. Approximately 6 weeks in length, 41 rides, 3000 miles. Los Angeles to New Orleans with lots of detours. For context, I am young, male, Asian, clean shaven and have short hair. I travelled with only a backpack. It was difficult to get rides, whether I was standing on an onramp, walking on the interstate, asking at gas stations, waiting after traffic lights, standing on the shoulder etc. I tried pretty much every method of hitching, and would like to say none of them have good chances of getting a ride quickly. For me, it was an even split between getting rides easily (matter of minutes) and waiting HOURS for rides. There is no State that was particularly easy, not even California along the 1 and 101 was easy, in fact some of my longest waits were in California. But of course, no one goes to the US and expects hitching to be smooth sailing. Public opinion towards hitchhikers is terrible, the vast majority don't give a damn who you are, where you're from and where you're trying to get to. Expect to be given ugly looks and get used to being ignored, since people see you as just another homeless person, which you are. Asking at gas stations is arduous, people are often scared and a lot simply won't take you no matter how nicely you ask. Mexicans will save you time and time again, they are often the only people who will pick you up on the side of the interstate or will actually hear you out at a gas station. Asking Mexicans or other Latinos in Spanish works beautifully, even a couple phrases will get you a vastly more positive response than using English. I often freedom camped in towns and rural areas, never in cities though. No bad experiences from that, but it does get cold. I preferred hitching at on ramps over gas stations just because I didn't want to run the goddamn gauntlet everytime I approached someone. Walking along the Interstate is an act of desperation, I don't recommend it (but have done it many times) because it is FUCKING DANGEROUS, and loud. Now the good parts: The people who do give you rides will be fucking AMAZING. Food, weed, beer, work, money, parties, couches to surf, fishing invites, intriguing conversations, crazy people, funny people, random people. WOW. The US has got it all, a kaleidescope of humanity in overflowing abundance. When that ride finally comes, it will be awesome so HANG IN THERE. Cops didn't care if they were driving past and I was on an onramp but State troopers will give you a hard time if you're on an interstate, I got two rides from cops to their county border and also had the police called on me thanks to some Karen in Texas. Racism is to be expected in the South if you're a person of colour, but the blacks will be so much more friendlier if you aren't white. I was never threatened or harmed, but most of my drivers were terrible at driving, some drank, some were high. Be wary of that. In conclusion, this country is NOT a walk in the park to hitch. It's hard. You'll need determination, the patience of a saint and a little courage, but it'll pay off. Trust me.''
-The Falling Leaf.
Hitchhikernick - I have hitched around the US many times, only 3 short of doing every state 3 times 😁. WOW what can I say, definitely the most generous nation. I have been given money and bought food so many times without asking, several times being 100$ bills😁. I'm actually there now on a skiing trip (Feb 2024) and same thing has happened on this trip. Waiting times have been from instant pickups where I haven't had time to put my bag down to waiting 2 days consecutively (highway 6 Nevada in Feb 2014). Never spend my own money and always leave with some money left over 😁. Average waiting time about 3.5hrs, though a lot less around ski areas. Definitely the only nation where I get checked by the cops, though many times they have proven to be helpful. Some times I have had to walk up the onramp but never got into trouble for doing so, if cops arrived they would generally give me a ride to a better spot, never been given a ticket. Definitely some of the greatest experiences too...drinking and partying with the natives in Monument valley, hitching and winging a ticket into Burning Man, crusing on a boat around Kachemak Bay and hiking to the magic bus in Alaska, camping and hiking around the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Yosemite, skiing all big ski resorts, experiencing city life and experiencing life with the homeless to name a few...!!! You could spend a lifetime experiencing, travelling and tasting the USA 😉. *UPDATE* I should also point out some of the downsides of hitching america, to paint a more accurate picture. On quite a few occasions, drivers would deliberately give me smoke clouds when they went past. There has been some real grumpy/bible obsessed/guilt tripping drivers. Not every police officer was so pleasant, telling me i couldn't hitchhike or that it was illegal (Idaho in particular). Waiting times could be brutal on some occasions. Temperatures can be extreme on both ends, you must be prepared, especially when you are familiar with long waiting times. And last but not least, the repetitive questions...thats what i love about countries I cant speak the language (not always avoidable even if foreign language). One last point, that i must add, though not directly related to hitchhiking, is Tipping...this has become out of control in the US. Once i had a tough day hitching so i wanted to make it better with a cheap can of beer. I went to a liqure store, found reduced price section and got a damaged can of beer for 1 usd. When I got to the checkout to pay, the checkout girl asked how much i would like to tip. i gave her a dollar note and said that is all i have. she then put it in a brown paper bag in a rather surly manner. its getting ridiculous and not good for budget concious travellers like hitchhikers. Nowhere else in the world, that I have visited, is so reliant/entitled on tipping like the US. On the whole though, I have found the USA hitchhiking good and happily do it again...many times😁. [[User:Hitchhikernick|Hitchhikernick]]
== Links ==
[[es:Estados Unidos]]
[[fr:États-Unis d'Amérique]]
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