Kansas Lunatics Encourage Hitchhiking

 

How thrilling. We now have a group of brilliant and wonderful individuals in Lawrence, Kansas, who want the city council to legalize hitchhiking within city limits. A non profit group called Lawrence Onboard would like hitchhiking to become an accepted mode of transportation within pre-established parameters, such as background checks and registration of drivers with City Hall, and hitchhikers carrying large signs announcing destinations. The registered driver would stop and pick up the hitchhiker, if possible. Bumper stickers announcing the connection to Lawrence Onboard would also be available. Any bad drivers or bad riders could be reported, and the whole idea could become reality with no problems whatsoever. Where's the eye-rolley when I need it?

 

I don't know what non-profit groups smoke for breakfast in Lawrence, but some of the folks at Lawrence Onboard obviously need to establish a working relationship with Reality. City Hall is actually going to employ a person whose job will be to conduct background checks on would-be ride givers and keep tabs on the state of hitchhiking in Lawrence? Sure, no problems there! Anyone with bad intentions yet no existing criminal record can pass a background check. A driver with a serious drinking problem, but no DWI's or accidents yet, can also pass a background check. There are also criminals who have records, but still pass background checks for reasons ranging from identity theft to incompetence of the person running the background check. And what if the boogieman steals or borrows the car of a legitimate Lawrence Onboard driver? It's not a risk for which I would want responsibility, and it's not a risk I would take.

 

There really is no way of keeping track of hitchhikers via background checks. The number of people who need rides from day to day in any city is always going to fluctuate. A would-be rider can get information from City Hall and carry a sign with a destination written on it, but that does not confer safety in allowing strangers into one's vehicle. This idea may seem innocuous at the surface, but it is really an engraved invitation to criminals. Finding vulnerable victims through a program that sanctions hitchhiking might even be easier than luring victims through networks like Craigslist! There isn't always a way to be sure if a hitchhiker is carrying a weapon or not, and once you accept a ride and get into someone's car, you have no control over where that car travels.

 

Sanctioned hitchhiking a`la Lawrence Onboard is truly one of the worst ideas I've heard lately. It carries a great deal of potential to perpetuate all kinds of crime, from petty theft to murder. Hopefully, the city of Lawrence will simply tell the folks of Lawrence Onboard that carpooling and vanpooling is a much safer, and legal alternative.