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Hitch-hiking is not illegal in NL, it is however illegal to walk on the highway and illegal to stop on the highway (and the highway starts at the sign on the ramp!). You're quite likely to be fined when caught walking past the highway sign and drivers might be unwilling to stop on the ramp. The hard shoulder is called 'emergency lane' in dutch and treated as such... Personally, I won't break the rules or annoy other drivers just to pick a hitch-hiker and I reckon this is a common attitude in NL.
Gas stations (along highways) shouldn't be an issue though, they are generally public space rented from the state anyway. As long as you behave I can't think of a reason to be send away.
Hitchhiking in the Netherlands is allowed everywhere. However, people without vehicles or in or on vehicles not built for driving over a certain speed, 60 or 80 kmh, are not allowed to enter motorways and to a certain extent, also on national roads which are marked with the blue rectangular sign with a car on it. So in practice, you are allowed to hitchhike everywhere, but you cannot do it on motorways and most national road as enforced laws prohibit you to be there; you are considered to be a pedestrian. This is pretty much the same all over Europe in regards to motorways. Apart from those places where there is a prohibition for pedestrians, there are other situations where police might disagree with thumbing. The main concern should always be traffic safety.
Hitchhiking at petrol stations is perfectly allright as well. In NL I've used them around 100-150 times and have never been sent away. On one occassion staff brought me a cardboard and marker, several times they offered me a snack or a cup of tea, once I was asked to only ask for rides at the entrance of the shop for safety reasons. Usual approach is handle the workers with due respect, don't walk around the entrance too much. I prefer to stand at the "front court" of the station, that is the side where the cars are entering. Close to the shop front entrance I always move around with care... --[[User:Fverhart|Fverhart]] ([[User talk:Fverhart|talk]]) 22:12, 16 July 2013 (CEST)
