New driver news - Holders of insurance for young drivers unlikely to hitchhike

Motorist news - Insurance for young drivers and UK hitchhiking

According to new research by the AA, reported in The Independent, motorists with insurance for young drivers are much less likely to pick up a hitchhiker than their parents or grandparents.

Apparently, whereas more than 50% of 48 to 65-year-olds have hitchhiked themselves, and are subsequently more likely to pick up a hitchhiker when driving, only 7% of 18 to 24-year-olds have hitchhiked and are therefore not as likely to pick up a hitchhiker when they get behind the wheel.

Two years ago 75% of road users were unlikely to stop for a person trying to get a lift from the side of the road. Presently, 91% of motorists would no longer be willing to give a stranger a free ride in their vehicle.

In the 60s and 70s, hitchhikers were a regular feature on the roadsides of Britain, however with the reduced price of cross-country coach travel it is easier to get about the UK without thumbing for a lift than it was before.

At the height of hitchhiking popularity there was even The Hitch-hiker's Manual: Britain, to guide people as they travelled the UK. Now, with pedestrians banned from motorways and the diminished need for a map-reader or companionship on the road thanks to sat-navs and in-car entertainment, the hitchhiker is reportedly a dying breed.

Research carried out in 2001 revealed the fear of crime to be a significant factor in people's reluctance to hitchhike or to offer a lift, yet this is not mentioned in the Independent's article.

Still, those people who do not yet have a car, and the necessary insurance for young drivers, may have hope of getting a free lift in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the West Country, as, according to the AA, motorists in these areas of the UK are more likely to stop for a hitchhiker than anywhere else in the country.