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Repaired five broken internal links; Added that the first part of german license plates can also consist of only one letter; And minor misc stuff like punctuation was corrected
[[File:Sheffieldbedroomwall.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[User:Tmoon|Tmoon]]'s collection of [[signs]]]]
A '''sign''' is a tool used by a [[Hitchhiker]] to communicate information to [[Picking_up_hitchhikers|drivers]]. Signs typically - but do not always - directly inform the driver of the hitchhiker's desired destination. Hitchhikers often debate about whether and how to use a sign. This article is meant to compile many of the best tips so you can develop your own technique.
== When to not use a sign or not ==
To use or not to use signs is one of the main points of debate among hitchhikers. There are a lot of factors to consider in whether a sign is a good idea.
* Do you have time and materials to make a good one? * Are people going to be able to read it? * Is it going to be easier to just talk to drivers?
Consider this: the driver must read the sign; then he's got to work out if goes in the same direction and finally he's got to decide if he likes your face and if he can stop somewhere... but then he realises that he's already passed you and that he is now 500m away from you... so he will decide to drive on! If you just use your thumb, the driver only has to decide if he likes you and if he can decide to stop sooner.
=== At petrol stations and rest stops ===
Some hitchhikers rely on gas stations and rest areas and advise talking directly to people rather than using signs. This can be more effective at big crowded petrol stations, like at [[petrol station hitchhiking|petrol stations]] on motorways in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Germany]]. This obviously won't work if you don't have some mastery of the language (perhaps with an intriguing accent). Some hitchhikers think that it's not very likely that holding a sign will help if you can already clearly state where you want to go (and even show it on a map) and that you are hitchhiking.
Others use these stops ''with'' signs, for example, by hold up a sign near the entrance instead of approaching people. This can be less intrusive and reduce the likelihood of being kicked off property. When using a sign at stops, the techniques from this articl on what to write generally also apply. For more info, see the articles on [[gas stations]] and [[Rest_area|rest stopsareas]].
==== Easier to decline rides ====
=== With significant local traffic ===
Sometimes local traffic won't stop for someone travelling a long distance, because they don't realize that every little bit helps. Many hitchhikers abandon signs in these situations. There are, however, various techniques for different types traffic (see [[Signs#What_to_write|What to write]]).
== What to write ==
What you write on the sign should depend a lot on what kind of traffic you're seeing. Generally, a good idea is to use the shortest abbreviation for a place that is well known by the most traffic. You can often determine where vehicles are registered by reading [[license plates]].
=== Your destination ===
From a branching road, writing the name and possibly direction of the major highway to your destination can be more effective. Sometimes getting to the motorway can be half the battle, but once there, you'll have access to the long-distance traffic you need.
For example, to get to [[San Francisco]] from [[L.A.|Los Angeles]], you first need to get to [[I-5]], which is on the far western side of the city. If you can't find [[public transportation]], hitching with a sign saying "I-5" will be most effective because it will signal to people going to the western side of L.A. as well as long-distance drivers going to San Fran, [[Sacramento]], or [[San Diego]].
=== A town closer than your destination ===
=== Abbreviations ===
Often, you might use shortcuts because they need way less space on your sign. The sense of this depends on what kinds of shortcuts you use. If you just shorten a long name to a shorter, but still logically understandable one (like "Amsterdam" to "A'dam", for example), this is certainly a good idea. In some countries, you could also use the license plate shortcuts to put on a sign, e.g. Germany or Switzerland. This can also be a disadvantage - sometimes only regional+local people know them, especially if they don't really seem to make sense on the first look (like "HH" for [[Hamburg]]).
==== Airports ====
==== Germany ====
The one-, two- or three- letter code on the first part of license plates represents the region where the vehicle is registered... and also widely understood by the average German and used frequently by German hitchhikers on signs. Not every German knows the abbreviation for every locality, but it would be fair to say that the typical German knows all the major German cities as well as the abbreviations in the local region.
For destinations with many foreign drivers it's probably better to write out the full name. For example, there are always plenty of Polish drivers on the way from the Netherlands or Belgium that pass through Berlin, but might not understand what "B" is.
* Some Americans might confuse the the M-states that aren't nearby (MS,ME,MO,MT,MN,MI... it can be confusing.)
* ''Oklahoma'', abbreviated as ''OK'', might be perceived as just saying "OK" if you aren't near it.
* ''Hawaii'' is abbreviated as ''HI'', but if you're hitching there you probably don't need a sign. See [[hitchhiking_on_boatsHitchhiking_a_boat|Hitchhiking a boat]]. * "LA", [[Louisiana]] can be easily confused with "L.A.", [[Los Angeles]].
Many states are also less-frequently referred-to by a three-, four-, or five-letter abbreviation. They're widely understood too.
* Mass.
* Miss.
* Ala. or 'Bama
Some long city name abbreviations:
* [[New York City|New York]] can be "NYC"
* [[New Orleans]] is "NO" or "NOLA", though these aren't always understood outside the southeast.
The state of [[Louisiana]] is "LA" and the city of [[Los Angeles]] goes by "L.A.". You can probably see why there are situations where these two should be avoided.
== Other tips ==
== References ==
=====ref 1=====
I, [[User:Dr.Keith|Dr.Keith]] developed the technique for using signs with local traffic (I'm probably not the only one) while tramping from [[Folkstone, UK|FolkstoneFolkestone]] to [[Brighton, UK|Brighton]] in August 2011. After having no luck with a "Brighton" sign, I started using smaller, more local place names, to great success.
=====ref 2=====
[[User:Nathan|Nathan]] and [[User:Rocky|Bob]], who hitched through France had great help writing '2 belges' on their sign. [[User:Guaka|guaka]] was successful with a sign "from Holland" in both [[New Zealand]] and in several parts of the [[United States of America|United States]], once by a Dutch girl living in [[Santa Cruz]], most people were happy to pick him up just because they thought Holland was cool (oh and one guy was smoking weed in the car).
