Signs
Hitchhikers often debate about whether to use a sign or not. If you decided to use one there are several important things:
- Think well about what place or text to put on it: take well known places, sometimes also road names can be used or more humoristic phrases ("I don't stink").
- Use the same font as the route directions
- Use contrasting colors: black on brown cardboard is not very good readable for passing drivers, black on white is far more readable
Tip: Make a sign of a large sheet of brightly colored paper glued to a sheet of cardboard. Cover this with self adhesive transparent book wrap. Now you made yourself a re-usable sign wich you can use with a whiteboard marker and clean again with a small towel.
Another good invention is the water proof transparet water-proof document-bags. There you can store a many sheets of paper and signs you can reuse. Nothing falls out, you can hang them somewhere and you can use both sides. Ortlieb is one company that produces good ones.
When not to use
Some hitchhikers think it could be better not to use signs at big crowded gas stations where it's up to you to ask people, like in Germany on highway gas stations (and speaking fluent German). It's not very likely that holding a sign will actually be helping if you can already clearly state where you want to go and that you are hitchhiking.
Others always have a sign. To show it to people while their still in the car and then ask them if they pass by to pay for their gas. If they don't understand what's written on it they also ask. And I already have it with me when getting out of a car, so people sometimes ask me right away if they can take me... So it's definitely good to have it. It doesn't have any negative effects so why not using it?
In conflict with the guy above I have to say that a sign only makes sense when you stand next to the road. At the Petrol station you better show the driver on a map where you want to go and so he can show you where he can take you. You even don’t need to speak his language for that. The big problem with signs is. The driver must read it, than he must think about if goes the same direction, than he wants to know if he likes your face and if he can stop somewhere...but than he realise that he passed you…he is now 500m away from you ...so he will decide to drive on! So if you just use your thump the driver only has to decide if he likes you and if he can stop his car in this place. If he is on the right way you can find out when he stops. Another bad idea is the use of shortcuts, because only locals know them (like HH for Hamburg). On the other hand the sign must be really big if drivers can read the whole name on 100km/h. Another bad effect of a sign is that the driver can see your aimed city and he didn’t want to go there. But he could take for the next 200km. Most drivers didn’t know how helpful they could be with these 200km so the drive on. I always have enough baggage with me. So I really don’t need another square meter of waterproofed cardboard in my rucksack. Use what you find and what you can put in the next dustbin! I only use sometimes funny signs or at some crossroads they could be helpful and of curse when I am not the only hitchhiker who is standing next to the motorway. …but its like religion…everybody has its own idea of it!
