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Remember the sign has to be read from a distance. At 100km/hr, a vehicle is covering approx 30 meters/second. The average reaction time when driving is 1.5 to 2.5 seconds, so 45 to 75 meters has gone before they start to stop. If you want them to stop, then you not only have to place yourself in the right location so they can see that you are a traveller and not just cagging a lift (this is what the sign does), you also have to have a sign that is readable. The more space between each letter the better to be read from a distance. (This is called Kernel, eg see road signs specifications.)
If space dosen´t doesn´t permit a long city name shorten it to something everyone will understand. For example [[Amsterdam]] could be '''A'dam''' and [[Hamburg]] could be '''HH'''.
Signs don't just have to list a place - Much success can be had (in the proper setting) with more off-the-wall signs like "We're Awesome!", "Free Cookies!", "Runaway Bride" or even "Not Far", etc.
If not, keep it simple to begin with. A solid rule that should be followed by any hitcher is to try to shy away from talking about politics with a driver who has differing view points than yourself. People have the tendency to get really worked up when it comes to politics, or religion, so if they mention something that your political or religious views disagree with, try to say, "I'm not going to get into that with you, my friend" or something like that. Many a hitcher has been seen thrown out of cars due to a fiery political discussion.
Some drivers will go extra kilometres kilometers off their route to help you, if you ask nicely.
Make sure you know where the driver will drop you off, and try to choose the ideal drop-off point yourself - despite their efforts to help, drivers sometimes leave you in very bad places. If the drop-off point is not helpful to you, then say so, and the driver may take you away to find a better spot.
It is also a good idea to check out [http://couchsurfing.com CouchSurfing.com] (more active), [http://bewelcome.org BeWelcome.org] and [http://www.hospitalityclub.org Hospitality Club] (good for finding phone numbers in smaller places) for free accommodation. If there's a YMCA center in town, see if they have a room for the night. There are many hitchhikers and it is easy to find a couple of places to stay while on the road or even at your destination. A fresh shave and shower will also greatly increase the chances of getting picked up.
If you can't find anywhere to sleep there are still other ways out of the situation. If you are lucky enough to be at a 24 hour petrol station just keep drinking coffee and keep hitching through the night. (Joe: My advice would be not to. After about 11p.m., it's probably best just to accept that you've been lucky and are stuck at a petrol station where you can stay warm. If you take another lift, you might end up in the middle of nowhere at three in the morning.) At night don't bother trying to get lifts with a sign, just ask people at the petrol station when they go to pay. Keep in mind that it gets really quiet between 2:00 and 5:00 even at a busy autobahn service area. The other alternative is to find a truck (or a car) going a really really long way and crash out on the way. Make sure you trust the driver or do it with 2 hitchers taking turns to sleep. The downside to this is that you might wake up a long way from where you wanted to be but at least you didnt didn't have to sleep in the gutter.
== Getting to the nearest city ==
