Accepting lifts with strangers.

Alessandra

My parents always warned me never to get into a car with a stranger yet she would often offer people walking along the road a lift in bad weather. You don't see many people hitchhiking these days anyway. I guess transport is better..

Well today I was struggling with my shopping walking home as I live just outside of a small town. Someone pulled up and offered me a lift. It was wet and I was tired so thought for a second and I hopped in. Now lucky enough this fella was very kind and friendly. Just thinking about it though it probably isn't the best idea when you hear stories:o

Would any of you accept a lift from a stranger? Do you stop to offer lifts? Or are those days long gone?

Gran Hermano

Ever hear of Jojo Dollard?

AlmightyCushion

Considering the vast majority of people aren't murdering rapists then yes I would.

Alessandra

Gran Hermano wrote: »

Ever hear of Jojo Dollard?

Yes but sometimes you just have to trust people I suppose.

Quazzie

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Considering the vast majority of people aren't murdering rapists then yes I would.

Has boards had no effect on you?

Archeron

I would accept a lift from a non dodgy looking stranger, but I am 6 foot 2, 300 pounds, and very ugly and hairy. I don't get offered lifts very often, but if I do, I would accept.

On the other hand, if I was a lone girl or lady, I would not be so keen to accept as I would feel there would be more nefarious characters looking for a lone woman.

I have stopped in the past and offered lifts to elderly people when I seen them walking in bad weather, and despite my big/hairy/ugly appearance, they don't hesitate to jump in.

You just never know which journey will end up with you home and dry, and which will end up with you being beaten to death with a frozen leg of lamb.

Hagar

I'd give a lone guy a lift but that's it. No more than 1 guy, no women, too easy for an unfounded accusation to be made. Sadly the Good Samaritan is a much at risk nowadays as the people they might help.

Jesus Juice

Well im not old enough to drive yet so she can hop on my back if she wants but other then that....

Abi

I dont take lifts coz I drive. But when offering, I drive by a few times to be sure that they dont look.. ya know, crackers or rapeyish. Who the fúck carries a whistle around with them?! bítch.

Overheal

Lets see, 2 miles to go, walking in the cold rain, in those school uniforms, someone offers me a lift. I can either die of pnumonia or die of rape and murder.

At least in the latter id be getting a little action before I die.

Kiera

I've offered old people lifts loads of time but wouldnt take one myself. And would never offer kids or a bloke a lift.

Overheal

Kiera wrote: »

I've offered old people lifts loads of time but wouldnt take one myself. And would never offer kids or a bloke a lift.

Julep walked back from the Spire? Nekkid?

godtabh

I was meant to fly to Canada from NY. FLight got cancelled and got a lift of about 700 miles with people who were on the flight with me. Some times its ok to accept them. Lost of factos involved in accepting one.

Dont think I'd ever offer a left

AlmightyCushion

kearnsr wrote: »

Dont think I'd ever offer a left

What about a right?

qz

kearnsr wrote: »

I was meant to fly to Canada from NY. FLight got cancelled and got a lift of about 700 miles with people who were on the flight with me. Some times its ok to accept them. Lost of factos involved in accepting one.

Dont think I'd ever offer a left

Are you drunk?

Fringe

I remember walking home from school one day in the lashing rain. A car pulls over and offers me a lift. It was just two ordinary guys who were in their early 20's. It was kinda weird but I refused since I was almost home. Still could've been dodgy though. I could've gotten boned badly by those guys.

Traditional

i used to do a bit of hitching years ago , got around ireland all the same , once a man of the cloth picked me up and as he was changing gears the old hand moved across , and i hopped out !

afatbollix

somebody was asking for a lift to donegal on here... and i was heading up.. so i said id take him up... paid for the petrol and all... and because my car doesent have a radio it was a bit better than singing to himself...

omb0wyn5ehpij9

I'd never take a lift from a stanger!

Latchy

Not a good idea imo .

Havermeyer

It's sad to say, but not in this day and age. Much better to pay for a bus/train than bum a lift from a potential nutjob.

Húrin

Hitch-hiking is entirely normal and safe. Most people seem to do risk assessments with paranoia as the main ingredient.

My best hitching experience ever was when I was alone, visiting a friend studying in Ljubljana, in Slovenia. I flew into Treviso Airport near Venice in Italy. I had been talking to the woman who was sitting beside me on the plane, just to alleviate boredom. She was from Ljubljana.

How happy I was, when we got off the plane, she told me that she had driven from her city (three hours drive) to the airport. I took a lift with her, no hesitation! Thus saving me a six hour journey by bus and train, and money. I always offer to help share the petrol cost but she refused. It's so easy to help someone out at no extra expense to yourself, when you're not dominated by fear.

Hagar wrote: »

I'd give a lone guy a lift but that's it. No more than 1 guy, no women, too easy for an unfounded accusation to be made. Sadly the Good Smaritan is a much at risk nowadays as the people they might help.

Pah, the original Good Samaritan was taking a risk too. That's what made him good. 'Playing dead' was a popular lead-in to an ambush with the highwaymen of the Middle East back then.

jester77

I only accept lifts if they are offering sweets

Nehaxak

I thumb a lift sometimes if I feel like it on the way home from work. Get the bus to Phibsboro and thumb from there while waiting on a bus, usually get a lift within a few minutes and enjoy the chat with complete strangers.
I think people are more surprised that someone actually still thumbs a lift these days.

SeekUp

The first time I was in Dublin, a friend and I had been wandering about, and at the end of the day we were certain that we were headed back toward the middle of town. Of course, we were not. A woman must've overheard us asserting our correctness and said something to the effect of, 'No, you're not going in the right direction, and you really shouldn't be wandering around here on your own.' She was nice enough to give us a ride back in, and we didn't think twice about accepting, because a) she was a woman and 2) there were two of us.

I also remember picking up a couple who were hitchhiking in NZ, but there were four of us in the campervan at the time.

Apparently, my general rule seems to be 'there's safety in numbers.'

OneThingIKnow

When I was a little kid this really old couple offered me a lift to school in their car. Looking back I'm sure they were probably just being really nice and we're harmless really and I scared them more than they scared me. But back then it scared the bejesus out of me and I ran away screaming into the nearest shop that people were trying to kidnap me. I think my parents gave me that "talk to strangers and you'll end up dead in a ditch" speech one too many times.

Alessandra wrote: »

Would any of you accept a lift from a stranger? Do you stop to offer lifts? Or are those days long gone?

Wouldn't accept any and I wouldn't offer any.

towel401

sure why not. the chances of something bad happening are so small
i must start offering ppl lifts but i think they will run for it as soon as they see the look on my face

First i'm gonna put a few more antennas on the roof and get blacked out windows tho

SV

I've given(gave?) a load of people lifts home on nights out if I was driving around.

Wouldn't go further than that though..

Húrin

Nehaxak wrote: »

I thumb a lift sometimes if I feel like it on the way home from work. Get the bus to Phibsboro and thumb from there while waiting on a bus, usually get a lift within a few minutes and enjoy the chat with complete strangers.
I think people are more surprised that someone actually still thumbs a lift these days.

Thumbing in the city, with buses available, is quite unusual! I'm surprised that it works much.

Biggins

This sounds daft but I have offered to give females a lift before - on one condition though.
Before they get in the car - I hand them my phone (if they not got one) and tell them to ring home/a friend of theirs, etc, and I ask them to give my car reg number and my name/address (I show genuine i.d.) to the person at the other end.
Most also mention what route they are taking and how long they will be if possible.

This relaxes them hopefully and they can hang on to my phone till they get out.

(I do charity/volunteer work for the Rape Crises Centre in Dublin so I know the horror stories sadly)

Pinkster

I've only once given a lift to a stranger and only because I had a friend with me. I really thought hitch hikers were a thing of the past. Will these recessionary times bring them back out again?

liah

I've done it twice. Once I got stranded out in the middle of absolutely nowhere completely on my own in heels (yes, it was one of those nights) with an appointment to get to and just took the first lift offered, he was coming out of his driveway anyway and it looked like he was a respectable businessman on his way to work so I figured it was okay.

The other time I thought it was a brilliant idea to walk about 7 miles from the country into town in the pitch black dark (in my defense I'm used to Canada where it's completely harmless to do this even in the middle of the night), a car drives up with the window rolled down and metal blaring, a guy pops his head out the window, goatee and all, tells me there's strange people out there, why am I (being a relatively attractive young girl) walking around in the middle of the night, could get raped or murdered or run over. Then he offered me a lift.

So, I got in, and had a brilliant night.

Yes, I'm stupid, but it makes my life oh so entertaining.

Super Sidious

ha...

Nehaxak

Húrin wrote: »

Thumbing in the city, with buses available, is quite unusual! I'm surprised that it works much.

Well it's a long enough walk at night in usually bad weather (it is Ireland after all) from Phibsboro to Ballymun and the buses are incredibly slow these days (gonna be even worse when they cut the fleet/drivers/routes soon), so it's no hassle to stick the thumb out and hope for the best.

gandhi123

Biggins wrote: »

.........I do charity/volunteer work for the Rape Crises Centre......

I know this is off topic but I'd like to just say keep up the good work and thank you for helping these victims.

I salute you Biggins!!

Super Sidious

gandhi123 wrote: »

I know this is off topic but I'd like to just say keep up the good work and thank you for helping these victims.

I salute you Biggins!!

Ted Bundy worked in a rape crisis centre...

gandhi123

flynner13 wrote: »

Ted Bundy worked in a rape crisis centre...

So your saying Ted Bundy = Biggins???

Yeah.. not funny flynner

towel401

Biggins wrote: »

This sounds daft but I have offered to give females a lift before - on one condition though.
Before they get in the car - I hand them my phone (if they not got one) and tell them to ring home/a friend of theirs, etc, and I ask them to give my car reg number and my name/address (I show genuine i.d.) to the person at the other end.
Most also mention what route they are taking and how long they will be if possible.

This relaxes them hopefully and they can hang on to my phone till they get out.

(I do charity/volunteer work for the Rape Crises Centre in Dublin so I know the horror stories sadly)

i wouldn't trust someone with my phone but i'd sit into their car

Super Sidious

gandhi123 wrote: »

So your saying Ted Bundy = Biggins???

Yeah.. not funny flynner

bit of a thick skin for AH...

jiltloop

I grew up out in Ashbourne, which is the home of the great Johnny Logan. Speaking with a few of the older guys around here, apparently before there was a bus service out here people used to have to thumb lifts into town all the time. I've heard this from more than one person, apparently Johnny used to to regularly pull up in his sports car with his eurovision songs blasting from the radio and give anyone a lift always saying "what do you think of that music? That's me singing!". Even funnier though (veering off topic I know) was a recently he went into one of the dirtier pubs in Ashbourne with loads of hardened drinkers around the bar and asked "can I have a mocha" to which the barman promptly replied "would you like twisty fries with that?" (it was around the time of his McDonalds ads). He was laughed out of the pub.

Super Sidious

Are you saying Johnny Logan is Bundy?

Not funny jiltloop

Nehaxak

"Johnny Logan is our friend, is our friend, is our friend, Johnny Logan is our friend, he hates rovers." - My 5 year old son unfortunately sings that a lot.
I haven't the heart to tell him I supported Shamrock Rovers as a child

gandhi123

flynner13 wrote: »

bit of a thick skin for AH...

I know this is AH, but rape is NOT funny and it shouldnt be laughed at.

You obviously never had a close friend or relative that was raped...

There's a time and place to rape 'jokes' and boards isnt one of them.

/rant over

Cop on will ya?
Thanks

Super Sidious

gandhi123 wrote: »

I know this is AH, but rape is NOT funny and it shouldnt be laughed at.

You obviously never had a close friend or relative that was raped...

There's a time and place to rape 'jokes' and boards isnt one of them.

/rant over

Cop on will ya?
Thanks

Eh relax mate... bundy used to give girls lifts home all the time... and look what happened there... it was relative to the topic.

jiltloop

flynner13 wrote: »

Are you saying Johnny Logan is Bundy?

Em.... no.

gandhi123

flynner13 wrote: »

...it was relative to the topic.

Yeah but you referred Ted Bundy to the Rape Crisis Center...which wasn't relative to the thread (IMO).... thats my point..

Anyways forget bout it now... i just hope ya realize here I'm coming from.
Thanks

On Topic:

Once got into a strangers car when i about 11, wasn't really thinking as i was really sick at the time and had just puked my ring in the local shop. Some woman offered to drive me home even thou i leaved about 2 minutes away..Just got into the car without thinking.. i was lucky considering i don't really remember getting into the car or driving home. Could of gotten into anyones car.

Pyr0

gandhi123 wrote: »

I know this is AH, but rape is NOT funny and it shouldnt be laughed at.

You obviously never had a close friend or relative that was raped...

There's a time and place to rape 'jokes' and boards isnt one of them.

/rant over

Cop on will ya?
Thanks

Húrin

liah wrote: »

The other time I thought it was a brilliant idea to walk about 7 miles from the country into town in the pitch black dark (in my defense I'm used to Canada where it's completely harmless to do this even in the middle of the night)

Why do you think it would be any more dangerous here than in Canada? AFAIK Canada has a rape rate disproportionately high, to its population.

Mossy Monk

Don't accept or offer.

c - 13

I have thumbed a few lifts in my teens when I was stuck. People who picked me up were generally nice, no problems.

I used to travel up a road with not a lot of traffic to work most days in the last job there was some guy thumbing so I stopped since he mightnt have gotten picked up for hours. Turns out I wasnt going close enoguh to where he wanted so he said he'd hold on. Fair enough, least I offered I suppose.

The girlfriend and her ma saw this really old guy looking a bit distressed one day so stopped to see if he was alright, he asked could they drop him home he wasnt feeling too well. He gave them directions and had them drive all over the town to where he lived chatting away, they eventually got back to where they picked him up and he said that was his stop and hopped out. Poor bugger only wanted someone to chat to.

I would never, never pick up a woman either alone or in a group, too easy for them to cry a false rape, seems to happen a bit. Then thats your life ruined.

liah

Húrin wrote: »

Why do you think it would be any more dangerous here than in Canada? AFAIK Canada has a rape rate disproportionately high, to its population.

Because the crime rate in general is quite a lot higher than it is back home. In my area there just plain wasn't crime. It just didn't happen. No one worried about anything. I always felt safe, everyone did, and everyone was. Simple as.

And rape is generally not committed out in the middle of a road in the middle of the night, it's generally committed by someone you know in place familiar to you such as your home. Really not a reason to be worrying about walking around outside at night. Plus it's not something I'm particularly frightened of-- Been there, done that. Survived, life goes on. I have a funny attitude about things.