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Waits Texans can often be long in rural areasindividualists, and in some parts meaning they will often see your lack of the state (such a vehicle as West Texas), the distance between towns and the high speed limit can mean very long waitsa personal failure. However, in more populous rural areasaddition to having an individualist culture, Texans also tend to be notoriously friendly and laid-back. "Southern Hospitality" lives, short hop if you're willing to engage your rides regardless of their accents, their political ideologies, or whatever nonsense may be pasted on their bumpers.<p> Texas is a massive state, with many of its residents having migrated from other states. Thus it is impossible to state anything "typical" of it. Additionally, there are fairly availablemany immigrants from [[Mexico]], and lifts from old ladies whom you will receive many rides. The casual kindness of Mexicans can often be your salvation, and volunteer fire chiefs are not uncommonthey'll just throw you in the back of the pickup without a second thought. Maybe this is because hitchhiking is more common there
[[trash:Texas]]
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{{Infobox Location|country = United States|map = <map lat='31.541089879585808' lng='-99.2724609375' zoom='5' view/>|pop ='0' float27,695,284 (2015)|plate ='right'/>TEXAS'''Texas''' is a state of the |motorways = [[I-10]], [[I-20]], [[I-30]], [[I-40]], [[I-27]], [[I-35]], [[I-37]], [[United States of AmericaI-45]]. }}
'''Texas can be a little more difficult than the national average for hitchhiking. Texans can often be individualists, meaning they will often see your lack of a vehicle as a personal failure. However, in addition to having an individualist culture, Texans also tend to be notoriously friendly and laid-back. "Southern Hospitality" lives, if you're willing to engage your rides regardless of their accents, their political ideologies, or whatever nonsense may be pasted on their bumpers.<p> Texas '' is a massive state, with many of its residents having migrated from other states. Thus it is impossible to state anything "typical" of it. Additionally, there are many immigrants from Mexico, from whom you will receive many rides. The casual kindness of Mexicans can often be your salvation, and they'll just throw you in the back [[United States of the pickup without a second thought - maybe this is because hitchhiking is common in MexicoAmerica]].
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== Roads ==
=== Shoulders ===
Very wide shoulders are built along the side of almost all highways, making it easy for people to pull over. [[Texas]] has some of the most abundant shoulders in the country.
=== Interchanges ===
[[split-traffic interchange|Split-traffic interchanges]] are unfortunately often found in the more urban areas of the central and eastern parts of the state, but are not common outside major metropolitan areas.
== Law ==
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.552.htm
Chapter 552.007. SOLICITATION BY PEDESTRIANS. (a) A person may not stand in a roadway ''(see definition below)'' to solicit a ride, contribution, employment, or business from an occupant of a vehicle, except that a person may stand in a roadway to solicit a charitable contribution if authorized to do so by the local authority having jurisdiction over the roadway.
Chapter 552.0071 For purposes of a solicitation under Subsection (a), a roadway is defined to include the roadbed, shoulder, median, curbs, safety zones, sidewalks, and utility easements located adjacent to or near the roadway.
As with most states, the definition of roadway allows for the solicitation of rides on the non-travelled portion of a highway such as the shoulder or berm.
=== Pedestrian Rights ===
Pedestrian rights in [[Texas]] are among the friendliest in the country. Pedestrians are allowed on virtually every single road in [[Texas]] including interstates, with the exception of a few busy urban corridors. This makes Texas one of the few states where you can actually stand right on the side of the Interstate with your thumb out.
=== Federal Districts ===
'''Note''':All land regulated by the National Park service prohibits hitchhiking under the Code of Federal Regulations
Title 36 section 4.31: Hitchhiking or soliciting transportation is prohibited
''except in designated areas and under conditions established by the superintendent.''
*Big Bend National Park
4.31 has not been amended here, so hitchhiking is prohibited.
== Experiences ==
:''Texas always gets a bad rap. I always had a good time, met plenty of friendly people, though i did more freight riding here then hitching. East Texas has a lot of hippies and was better for hitch than West Texas.'' - samson
:''I have hitched through Texas many, many times over the years. Cops can be terrible here. I have been arrested and ticketed multiple times for hitchhiking and panhandling. STAY AWAY FROM AUSTIN AREA unless you want to be arrested, ticketed, and run out of all the towns around there. Hitchhiking is above the national average on the other hand. People give out a lot of money here.'' - [[User:Thewindandrain|Thewindandrain]] 0:06:33, 6 March 2012 (CET)
:''Most Texans were extremely friendly and helpful in my experience. Though the only trouble with the law I ever encountered hitchhiking was in Beaumont. The police officer was not happy when I corrected him about the actual legislation regarding hitchhiking and basically told me to scram. Luckily, the first person I ran into at the nearby gas station gave me a ride :) As a single female, I was never waiting longer than twenty minutes, even coming out of big cities. One guy who picked me up in Port Arthur couldn't take me anywhere, but called his friend who was going to my exact destination that afternoon. And once a guy from Houston bought me dinner and a hotel room to stay for the night. I was gifted a Bible from a theology student once, and he said a really nice prayer for me as well, even though he knew I wasn't religious it was still a nice gesture. A Texan once told me, "Texans can't say no," and in my experience, I'd say that's mostly true.'' - [[User:Jnadz|Jnadz]] 03:25:10, 29 March 2012 (CET)
:''I've hitched too much of Texas too many times and ridden freight through as well. Your experience is really going to depend on gender, appearance, size of party, critters, etc. Friends and I have joked that people in Texas would rather give you money than a ride.''
:''Generally speaking, I've seen enough of the onramps along I-35 (no room to pull over) and Ft Worth cops. . Megabus is still cheap in TX in 2013, I would take it anywhere between the Ft Worth-Dallas metroplex and San Antonio. If you're a scruffy guy and comfortable with freight, the Sunset is an easier option than hitching I-10.'' -Shannon
:''Texas definitely exceeded my expectations. The folks here are friendly and hospitable; none of that "You ain't from around here" stereotyping. Hitching is easy compared to neighboring states. Most locals work on oil rigs or ranches, so expect lots of working vehicles. '' -[[User:Dr.Keith|Keith]]
If you are comfortable doing so, I recommend standing where an on-ramp meets the highway itself (either on the shoulder or grass) - something that is legal in texas. The sheer number of cars means you will get a ride fairly quickly. Otherwise, ask at truck stops (ask truckers and regular cars). Pilot truck stops have free WiFi. The attendants are usually cool unless they think you're begging and/or scamming (something that people unfortunately see way too often and which can also make it difficult to get rides). I had pretty decent luck, making it over 1000 miles from Austin TX to Jacksonville FL in 2 days. I met some very kind people (including one trucker who let me sleep on the spare bunk in his truck) but I also got asked for sex by 2 drivers in texas. Hitchhiking in the states is a real bummer for me because of the way people regard you - most assume you're a begger, criminal, prostitute or all 3. They never consider that you could be doing this by choice and after this trip I understand why riding freight is so popular. Definately agree with the comment above that people would rather give you money than a ride. That said, its definately possible to have great experiences; be polite, try to seem "wholesome" and throw in a m'am/sir. As in other states, a lot of drivers told me they only gave me a ride as a female alone, and wouldn't have picked up a man or a couple. -Liz, December 2017
=== Cities ===
* [[Austin (Texas)|Austin]]
* [[Abeline (Texas)|Abeline]]
* [[Dallas]]
* [[El Paso (Texas)|El Paso]]
* [[San Antonio (Texas)|San Antonio]]
* [[Midland (Texas)|Midland/Odessa]]
* [[Amarillo]]
* [[Waco (Texas)|Waco]]
== External links ==
* [[wikipedia:Texas|Wikipedia]]
* [[trash:Texas|Trashwiki]]
* [[nomad:Texas|Nomadwiki]]
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[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:United States]]
