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United States of America

879 bytes added, 22:13, 13 September 2013
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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.
== Long vs. short distance Methods for catching rides ==If you're going for speed over a long distance (3+ hours), then the best bet is to stay on the interstates (designated by "I-##) 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]], etc.) You can also look for rides at the truck stops themselves, but be discreet about it as some a staff or customers are rather unfriendly to hitchers and will rudely ask you to leave their territory or call the police on you. As a rule Love's and Pilot truck stops will be the quickest to kick you out. Flying J truck stops are generally a lot more lenient towards hitchhikers. Getting dropped off on a low-traffic exit is the gravest danger when hitching on interstates where the police are unfriendly to standing where you're visible to the through traffic on the freeway. 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.
=== Long Distance ===If you are only 're going for speed over a few hundred mileslong distance (3+ hours), you can often make better time 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 state -ramps that have truck stops, [[rest area|rest stops]] or local roadsany other reason for drivers to stop there (restaurants, [[petrol station hitchhiking|gas stations]], hotels, etc.)  Often times the best way to hitchhike is just to stay on high traffic ramps with large shoulders for people to pull over on. There Getting dropped off on a low-traffic exit is the gravest danger when hitching on interstates, especially where the police are many more places unfriendly. It can easily lead to wait 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. Asking for rides atrest 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 much more potential trafficto greet everyone entering the building with a friendly smile, 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. Most of  You can also look for rides at the traffic on 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 Interstate system wonproperty. As a rule Love't s and TA truck stops will be able the quickest to notice kick you out. Pilot/Flying J truck stops and smaller locally owned truck stops are generally a lot more lenient.  === Short Distance ===If you while are only going a hundred miles, you can often make better time on the on-rampUS highways, state highways or local roads. Even if you are going long distances, if you aren't concerned about making good time then , getting off the interstates can be a very rewarding experience. Local highways and smaller roads 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. 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.
== Police/Laws ==