Hitchhiking

A typical hitchhiker's gesture  

 

Hitchhiking is a historically common practice worldwide, and hence there are very few places in the world where laws exist to restrict it. However, a minority of countries have laws that restrict hitchhiking at certain locations.^[1] In the United States, for example, some local governments have laws to outlaw hitchhiking, with safety being the primary concern. In 1946 New Jersey arrested and imprisoned a hitchhiker leading to intervention by ACLU.^[2] In Canada, several highways have restrictions on hitchhiking, particularly in British Columbia. In all countries in Europe it is legal to hitchhike, and in some places even encouraged, however it is illegal to hitchhike where pedestrians are banned, such as Motorways (United Kingdom) or the Autobahn (Germany)

By contrast, there are places where drivers are obliged to pick up hitchhikers. These places are found in the Netherlands, Switzerland but especially in Cuba where  

  government  vehicles and lorry drivers, with an unoccupied seat, must pick up hitchhikers

Hitchhiking (called liften) is legal in the Netherlands. This sign indicates a good place to get a lift, close to Amstel railway station in Amsterdam