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|language = English (de facto), Spanish widely spoken in southwest and Florida
|capital = [[Washington D.C.|Washington DC]]
|pop = 303317,893791,000
|currency = American Dollar ($)
|BW = US
Hitching, like everything else in America, varies greatly depending on what type of area and what part of the country you are passing through. In general you can get rides fairly easily if you hitchhike the right way; in fact, often you can find more than just rides, such as offers for free meals, invitations to homes and parties, etc.
Relatively quite a few people in the United States are profoundly religious. People who pick you up might inquire about your religion. If you're not religious, try to deal with it in a positive way and accept the difference. More often you will be picked up by really cool people, and often dropped off exactly at the point of your destination, as hitchhiker [[User:Guaka|Guaka]]'s experience shows, for example. Detours for hitchhikers are much more common here than in Europe due to cheaper gas.
== Methods for catching rides ==
=== Long Distance ===
If you're going for speed over a long distance (3+ hours), then the best bet is to stay on the interstates (designated on maps by "i-#": road signs appearing [http://hitchwiki.org/en/File:InterstateSign.svg#file like this]) instead of local highways. Try to stick to on-ramps that have truck stops, [[rest area|rest stops]] or any other reason for drivers to stop there (restaurants, [[petrol station hitchhiking|gas stations]], hotels, etc.) . State highways is also a good way to catch rides especially when your destination is not very near to an interstate, Its easier to hitch a ride on interstates as drivers are more relaxed and not going very fast.
Often times the best way to hitchhike is just to stay on high traffic ramps with large shoulders for people to pull over on. Getting dropped off on a low-traffic exit is the gravest danger when hitching on interstates, especially where the police are unfriendly. It can easily lead to long, long delays. Identify the last truck stop, major intersection (with a non-freeway), or rest area before your driver's destination, and get off there rather than risking getting stuck. If you do get stuck on a low traffic ramp, you can try hitchhiking on the highway itself even if pedestrians are prohibited. There is a good chance you will get picked up before police see you, and if they do they are just going to give you a warning and ask you to go back to the rampor even give you a ride to the next one just to get rid of you..
Asking for rides at rest areas, particularly on toll roads such as I-90 between [[Boston]] and [[Chicago]] is one of the quickest ways to get a very long distance ride, but soliciting and loitering is prohibited there and sometimes you will be kicked out before finding a ride. A good way to avoid being kicked out is to greet everyone entering the building with a friendly smileand give them a friendly nod, then ask them for a ride as they leave the building. This gives them time to become comfortable with your presence and prevents them from having the opportunity to complain about your solicitation to the employees.
You can also look for rides at the truck stops or gas stations themselves, but be discreet about it as with rest areas, some customers will complain and staff will make you leave the property. As a rule Love's, Petro, and TA truck stops will be the quickest to kick you out. Pilot/Flying J truck stops and smaller locally owned truck stops are generally a lot more lenient. You may even find signs that prohibit you from soliciting a ride, so caution is necessary like asking instead of showing them a sign to your destination.
=== Short Distance ===
If you are only going a hundred miles, you can often make better time on US highways, state highways or local roads. Even if you are going long distances, if you aren't concerned about making good time, getting off the interstates can be a very rewarding experience. Local highways will grant you a better picture of what local life is like in that area, and typically offer a greater variety of drivers and scenery. To hitchhike on these highways, it is best to stand at the edge of town right before the speed limit picks up, even walking on the highways also helps as shoulders most of the way are pretty wide. Standing at stop lights outside of towns along these highways is also a great way to catch a ride, even if the speed limit is quite high.
=== Urban and Suburban Short Distance ===
An alternate method to hitchhiking within urban areas is to walk up to cars stuck at red lights and ask them in person if you can have a ride in the direction they are going. This works best if they already have their window down, but usually people will roll their window down to talk to you if you stand in front of their car trying to get their attention.
Another way is to pay a small amount for public transportation to drop you off outside the city(check your map/GPS).
You may also wish to try asking for rides at smaller local gas stations, but you are unlikely to make as much progress doing this.
=== Overview ===
The legal status of hitchhiking in the United States is a bit of a difficult topic; laws and their enforcement differ greatly from state to state as does the information available online and in general knowledge. Many people (including police officers) mistakenly believe hitchhiking is illegal anywhere in the US; sometimes you'll get away with holding a cardboard sign but not with holding out your thumb, and sometimes nobody will hassle you even if you stand or walk right on the interstate. The specific articles on states will give you more information on this topic.
=== Nationwide ===
If the police pass you walking or sitting by the side of the road without soliciting in any way, they may still stop to check IDs, but you are not required to identify yourself unless there is suspicion that you could have committed a crime. You may wish to hide your thumb or sign when a police car is approaching to avoid being hassled.
Often, particularly close to major cities, the [[police]] will ask you for photo ID, but as long as you have one with you (such as a passport) there shouldn't be a problem. Most of the time they will be polite when you come up clean, and not too rarely they'll give you a lift out of their area to get rid of you.
Being in a state which permits hitchhiking does not guarantee that the police will not harass you. Most police don't know the laws and will tell you it is illegal to hitchhike in that state. [[User:Thewindandrain|Thewindandrain]] argues with cops on a regular basis and refuses to stop hitchhiking where it is legal. He has been innocently arrested for this twice, but has remained confident and never been taken to jail even after being cuffed and in the car and continuing to stand up for his rights. They are usually bluffing right to the very end. If you know the law in that state, don't be afraid to tell the police they are wrong!
Frequently when confronted with your response, law enforcement officers will react unprofessionally and occasionally aggressivelyand even in a discriminatory way if you are not their race(its occasional but as long as you are prepared and confident you would be fine). They may call you names or threaten to arrest you if they see you hitchhiking again and then leave the scene. This is usually a bluff. They may even cuff you then give you a ride out of their jurisdiction. Occasionally they may admit to their mistake and leave you alone. If you are uncomfortable and feel threatened by the officer, you may request to speak to his/her supervisor. Supervisors will show up to talk with you about the law openly and professionally.
== Car License Plate ==
''' Eat: '''
If you are friendly, people who pick you up will offer to buy you food quite a lot. Additionally, a lot of people will throw you some bucks to eatand even give you shelter if its late at night. From change up to $100. An anonymous hitchhiker has been given $100 dollars twice, and they have been given $60 dollars several times as has [[User:Zenit|Zenit]]... If you are looking for monetary gifts, the key is the right type of answer when they ask, concernedly, what you do to eat - "Naw, we're pretty much all right, we got *some* money." (emphasizing the "some" slightly)- if they've asked this question and you answer this way you'll basically always get a friendly handout - for which you should thank them profusely, of course. :)[[File:ChaelUSwalking.jpg|thumb|350px|[[User:Chael777|Chael]]<small><sup>[http://www.velabas.com/ site]</sup></small> crossing a bridge in Oregon, August 2009]]
For vegetarians and especially for vegans traveling between cities, times can be hard. [[User:Zenit|Zenit]] for one has sustained himself mostly on chips and granola bars for weeks at a time in the Mid West, however if you are looking in right places you can always find vegan food like cheese and bean burritos, biscuit, cheese pizza etc. You can even ask restaurants to remove the meat part from the meal,
Once you open your mind to it, there are actually many opportunities for dumpster diving in urban areas. Port cities are especially good. Note, however that dumpster diving is in a similar sort of gray area as hitchhiking, with local legality depending on the particular state's laws, and the prevalent attitudes of local law enforcement officers.
Grocery stores and gas station(with fast food)are prime targets for food ([[:trash:Trader Joe's|Trader Joe's]] or Starbucks are especially likely to have an unlocked dumpster, and has lots of organics). Grocery stores cannot sell packaged foods past their expiration date, and so throw them away still wrapped in dumpsters behind the store.
Another great place to dive is food distribution centers. As they supply restaurants, their food comes in bulk and they throw out their food sometimes days before the expiration date. Google Maps can help you turn up locations. ''Check Trashwiki for detailed information on [[:trash:United States of America|dumpster diving in the United States]].''
''Haven't hitched extensively there, but where I have, the experiences have been unique. I've hitched Oregon to Mexico along the famous highway 101. I also hitched from Oregon to Chicago on i90 in the dead of winter. Lots of clothes for that one, and a warm place to retreat to at every stop. The most remarkable thing about hitching in the States is that you get picked up by REALLY interesting people. Not all the time. But our beloved weirdos are more common in the US than anywhere else I've hitched. Regardless of what you think about the States, it's easily one of the most interesting places to hitchhike, especially if you LIKE adventure.'' - [[User:Chael777|Chael]]
"Have hitchhiked moderately in US, about 9,000 miles(including ferries and train hopping). Its a diverse country so generalizing a state or even a county(as I have been picked up in the most conservative counties) would not be right. I have been picked up by really awesome people(some of them are now my friends), Friendly cops(who offered me water and money) to discriminatory cops(who just wanted to get rid of me), people who turned out to be gay(asked sexual favors), bored people looking for a good conversation(what you have to do is just listen and and ask question to acknowledge that you are listening), people who saw me as a curious and tired foreigner etc. It was a great experience and helped me learn a lot about the culture here. One thing I learned is that if you are having fun then you get picked up easily as compared to when you are not. My personal favorite states are [[Alaska]] and [[Missouri]]" [[User:Keep_trying|Tarun]]
''I have hitchhiked over 70,000 miles in the United States, been through every state, and while I have nothing to compare it to other than Canada, I would say in general that it is easy and fun to hitchhike here. Each state varies greatly in geography and ease of hitchhiking. My personal favorite states are [[Colorado]], [[California]], and [[Arkansas]].'' [[User:Thewindandrain|Thewindandrain]] ([[User talk:Thewindandrain|talk]]) 04:42, 28 October 2012 (CET)
