My Dad was a salesman. Told me a story of a hitchhiker he picked up years ago in southwest Virginia. Out of prison, etc. Dad had empathy.
I suspect it was from his childhood during the Great Depression. He related a story of walking along a road back to town, circa mid-1930’s. A guy passed them and stopped a fair piece up the road. They hustled up to that car. The guy asked the kids if they were tired of walking.
“Sure are, mister.” He replied “Try running for awhile ...” and he sped off in the car.
A-holes have always been closer than they appear.
Hitchhikers are almost never a problem. The people that pick them up can be. A friend in HS hitchhiked from NC to Texas. A couple of drivers(male) wanted to get “friendly” with him.
Hint: If you are hitchhiking, get the driver to drop you off near a broken-down car for your next ride.