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===Chapter 4: WHY DO PEOPLE GIVE LIFTS?===This was one of the questions put to the 186 hitch-hikers picked up and grilled in my Bedford van in August and September 1968 (see Appendix 2). As one might expect the most obvious answer came up most often: 'for company'. This idea was expressed under a variety of guises by 138 people out of 186. Many people gave more than one reason. The detailed break-down looked like this: 83: Because they want company (companionship) 19: Lorry drivers give lifts for company 15: Because they want someone to talk to 8: Because they are bored 7: Because they are lonely 6: To keep awake The majority verdict of the 186 that the general run of drivers give lifts because they want company is borne out in practice in the experience of every thumber. By far the most likely vehicle to stop is the one with a single man in it. The least likely vehicle to pull up is one with a couple or a family. (This is not just a matter of space, though clearly a four seater saloon with five kids piled in <h2> Chapter 4: Why do people give lifts?</h2><p> This was one of the questions put to the 186 hitch-hikers picked up and grilled in my Bedford van in August and September 1968 (see [[Hitch-Hiking_by_Mario_Rinvolucri/appendix-2|Appendix II]]). As one might expect the most obvious answer came up most often: 'for company'. This idea was expressed under a variety of guises by 138 people out of 186. Many people gave more than one reason. The detailed break-down looked like this:</p><blockquote> <p> <tt><span class="c4">83</span></tt>: Because they want company (companionship)<br> <tt><span class="c4">19</span></tt>: Lorry drivers give lifts for company<br> <tt><span class="c4">15</span></tt>: Because they want someone to talk to<br> <tt><span class="c4"> 8</span></tt>: Because they are bored<br> <tt><span class="c4"> 7</span></tt>: Because they are lonely<br> <tt><span class="c4"> 6</span></tt>: To keep awake </p></blockquote><p> The majority verdict of the 186 that the general run of drivers give lifts because they want company is borne out in practice in the experience of every thumber. By far the most likely vehicle to stop is the one with a single man in it. The least likely vehicle to pull up is one with a couple or a family. (This is not just a matter of space, though clearly a four seater saloon with five kids piled in the back can't stop for physical reasons.) It is also noticeable that single men stop more readily when driving on business from Monday to Friday than in a fully private capacity at the weekend or on holiday. It would seem that the driver stops most readily when he needs to humanize his situation; at the weekend he is on the road for personal and recreational reasons, and his own thoughts are sufficiently absorbing to fill his mind and make picking someone up not seem necessary. When driving with a friend, a woman, or his family he is bound in a matrix of human ties and the idea of a hitch-hiker suddenly installing himself appears irrelevant or even unwelcome.</p><p> Another interesting thing is that two male hitchers find it more difficult to get a lift than one. This may be a question of space but very often it is because the idea of picking up two men is less satisfactory in the mind of the man driving alone than the prospect of picking up one person. On dark nights or lonely roads an element of fear on the driver's part evidently comes into this. But the willingness to pick up one male hitch-hiker but not two is a pretty constant feature of driver reaction on main roads in broad daylight. This is how a young Liverpool scooter shop owner put it:</p
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