What is the proper protocol when hitchhiking? Should you pay the driver for the ride? I have done a lot of hitchhiking over the years and have just assumed that it was a courtesy on the part of the drivers. I hitchhiked home all through high school but that was 60 years ago and payment was never part of the expectations on either side. I am planning on hiking the Fox River Pathway in Michigan this summer and if I cannot find a ride I am planning on hitchhiking. I hitchhiked this trip a few years ago and I ended up with five different rides. Now I see some folks talking about paying the driver. Due to my past experience it just never occurred to me unless someone went out of their way on a special trip.

I've hitchhiked a lot and, like you, the thought of paying the driver has never occurred to me. I have also given a fair number of lifts to people and never thought about being paid. The hitchhiker is accepting a favor, the driver is doing a favor; in the future the situation may be reversed. On the grand scale of things it should all even out in the end.

We were kinda of dipping into this in another thread about who does and does not bring there keys with them. I have thumbed a ride back to the car a few times and i have to agree having a little money is a good idea for reasons like this but it seems like when your in the back country most people are so nice they usually wont accept the money anyway. But i think regardless is should be offered.

Actually the other thread got me thinking about this. I generally do not have more than $20 with me and I want that for the restaurant stop since a lot of small backcountry diners do not take credit cards. It never even occurred to me to pay someone for a ride to where they were going anyway. I think it is partly a generational thing. When I was growing up a lot of folks hitchhiked and it was a common practice so no one expected payment. I am an old grouch but I think that 50 years ago society was more generous to others. It seems to be that today everyone expect payment for whatever they do. As I said I am an OLD grouch.

What I do find interesting is that the 100+ times I hitched back to my car probably 90 of those times I was picked up by someone in a >$500 car which was full of junk/tools/equipment. The first thing many of the drivers say is "put on your seat belt"

There is a generational thing, but I think it is only in how common hitchhiking is. I disagree with the idea that people were more generous way back when. When you were hitchhiking in high school, you did it because you didn't have the money to drive yourself. The person who gave you a lift knew that and didn't expect anything in return. Now we are talking about people hitching a lift while on vacation. They are doing it not because they don't have the money; they are doing it for logistics reasons (i.e. There is no easy way to get a car to your hiking destination). You are relatively well off (you are able to go on vacation) and if you are hitching a ride from someone who isn't, it is rather selfish of you to not offer to help split the cost of the ride. In general it costs someone $0.51/mile to drive a car according to the IRS.

I agree. Commercial shuttle services between trailheads run about $100 per person, if not more. Paying $20 for a lift still saves you a bundle.

When hitching between trailheads, I make sure I have at least rinsed out my clothes recently, take a dip in a stream, and look presentable. If you stash your pack you often will get a ride sooner. You can come back and pick up your pack. People with small cars usually have limited space and do not want a dirty pack in the back seat (or a dirty hiker!). Also it is a lot more successful if you simply ask people in the parking lot at the trailhead. Often I see hikers but there is no safe place to pull over.

I use to hitchhike all over the country back in the day and I still hitch around from one trailhead to another, but never very far anymore. Back then I never had any money, but even now I don't think people ever expect money or would want you to offer it. Maybe buy them a beer or soda or a sandwich, something in trade essentially, yes, but not money. I'm not saying I wouldn't be willing to pay them, it would certainly be worth $20 to me, but I think people would prefer just to give it to you and get your profound gratitude in exchange. Well, and also they usually like for you to listen to their stories, laugh at their jokes, etc. That's just good manners. I try to be the most polite of audiences possible.
Now, one exception to the money rule would be if I were needing a ride that would require them driving significantly out of their way. In that case it would quite reasonble (and in my self interest) to pay them something. Unfortunately who are willing to become your impromptu Uber are hard to find.

Some people may prefer not to be paid, because once paid, legally you may be liable in an accident. But true "payment" may differ from a "tip" or "gift". It can get a bit hazy regarding legalities and I am no expert. As for trailhead to trailhead, hardly anyone is doing that just for their own need. Most do go out of their way, at least to deposit me at the second trailhead, so I offer payment for gas. A lot decline to accept, but I do offer. If you simply are getting a ride from the trailhead to the nearest highway or town, that is a different situation. The point is, do not come off as a "moocher".

Is it safe to hitchhike generally?

If so, which countries are the drivers most receptive to hitchhikers?

I'll offer up a fairly young perspective I suppose. I'm not sure if others my age agree, but as a 23 year old, I do not expect hitch hikers to pay anything other than common respect to the driver. Otherwise just friendly conversation will do just fine; I love to hear what people might be up to that led them to hitch hiking, whether it's for a backpacking trip, or to get across the states to visit a friend.

Now, granted, I will admit that many others around my age have a fear of hitch hiking or picking up hitch hikers. Everyone is convinced they've got a 50/50 chance that that stranger will be a psychopath. Same reason so many people are scared to meet someone from Craigslist at their house, or to let their 10 year old leave their street without a GPS tracking device and a cell phone.

I couldn't answer that question very well, though I have successfully hitchhiked in a half dozen countries, but I will say that when I was in Chile 16 years ago, there were billboards along the highway with big pictures of a hitchhiking hand and the slogan "give them a hand", so I guess it was being encouraged on an official basis by the gov't...of course I took the bus and didn't try hitching