Taking rides from strangers?

[Alex_C]

Come on man don't diss the flat-four, that's the People's Car.

Yeah getting in cars with strangers, I dunno ..... I'd be hesitant to get in a car even with a 98-lb hottle just because then SHE's in control and what kind of 200-lb lunker of a BF is just out of sight?

[heatherrose]

Ummm...You might want to back off on you "T" dosages.
(Referencing you current avitar.)

[Alex_C]

Yeah ain't it great? I found it somewhere and stole it.

[heatherrose]

I'm bananas over it.

Thank you for standing by. We now return you to your regularly scheduled tread.

[Janet_Girl]

Will you two quit 'monkeying' around.


Janet

[finewine]

Pff...sounds like someone has a chimp on their shoulder to me!

[Bellaon7]

Anyway, back to the topic in question!

Ahhhhh....Vegas!  Anything can happen in Vegas, indeed!    Last time my boyfriend and I were there, some people were acting kind of crazy on the streets.  What is that saying?  "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas".   

LMAO!!! I don't care what stays here, just as long as I can make it outta here alive!

[Britney_413]

Ok, at this point you probably should make up your mind as a lot of us have given you advice. You can't change the general climate of the entire city but you can choose on what you want to do about it. If you want to acknowledge weirdos (no matter how 'nice' they look) in vehicles or otherwise casing your presence then that is up to you and you already know the dangers.

If, on the other hand, you decide that you definitely do not want to be bothered, I have a solution for you. You stated you have a CCW permit. Start carrying openly. It won't look feminine and will probably raise eyebrows but it is extremely unlikely that any creep in a vehicle will pull over to bother a woman clearly packing a gun. I've done this (whether dressed as a girl or not) and you take one look back at the gangbangers who were first staring at you only to notice they are suddenly gone. Nevada like Arizona is an open carry state.

That being said, I would definitely avoid this crap as much as possible. It pays to have your own vehicle so you aren't as exposed to all of the eyeballing. Based on your recent posts, it sounds like you have already tried 'jumping in these cars' so you already have experience with this. I'll give it to you that it is adventurous and even I've done some similar adventurous things in terms of the dating scene (but never jumped in someone else's car). Regardless, you need to weigh the risks and the benefits. Generally, the best possible outcome of hooking up with a stranger is a quickie whereas the worst outcome is ending up in a bodybag. That doesn't sound like a good combination of odds. You are not likely to meet your life long partner on the side of a road, just find a bit of a sex thrill. I would rather screen people ahead of time before jumping in bed with them. At least meeting them in a bar or over several visits in public places gives you more normalcy and relative safety than randomly jumping in someone's truck. C'mon.

[Bellaon7]

Ty Britney, what you say makes good sense. I certainly wouldn't recommend that anyone else do what I've done. Although Nv is an open carry state, there are strict city ordanences about oc even w/a cw permit. I'm very careful about where I carry. If I were to openly carry I would be stopped by every cop that passed by. It would just be foolish. Besides, where the heck am I gonna strap a Freedom Arms .454 Casull?!   

[Britney_413]

Another strategy is to simply be assertive. Rather than let a creep put me on the defensive, I will pre-emptively put them on the defensive. For instance, if someone is constantly eyeballing me in a rude manner I will eventually say, "What is the problem?" or "Do you need something?" before they have a chance to confront me. Or, if some vehicle is slowing down or suspiciously circling, the second their window rolls down, I will yell "What do you want?" before they have a chance to even ask.

I don't want to interact with strangers beyond a simple "Hi," a smile, or a door being held. Anything other than this should be a dire emergency. It is invasive, rude, and annoying to be bothered by people begging for cigarettes, money, or rides for instance or even asking directions. Trying to pick someone up of course is outright disturbing to me. Adults as far as I'm concerned should basically have it together without needing my help. I generally consider anyone trying to get my attention in public who I do not know automatically suspicious. I have the right to be left alone. You do too. Enough said.

[heatherrose]

Good personal survival policy.
The best defense is an alert offense!

[Jay]

I would NEVER accept a ride from a stranger.

Mee too..
Jay

[Renate]

Back in the old days (1970's & 80's), I used to do quite a bit of hitchhiking.
I met all sorts of wonderful people in violation to any stereotype.
I met business types in gooshy cars, single mothers of twins in vans,
immigrants in broken-down heaps and guys proud of their brand-new sports car.
I've been proselytized and sometimes even mildly got propositioned.

Over time the readiness of people to give you a lift has sharply decreased.
The last time that I tried to seriously hitchhike two years ago I got 10 miles out of the 160 miles I needed.

As a woman now, I don't hitchhike.
I did accept an unsolicited ride once while walking along a highway.
That was probably a stupid thing to do.
Still, I miss meeting all the nice characters that I used to meet.

[Britney_413]

It is sad how times have changed. I would still consider it quite a difference between purposefully hitchiking and simply being cased. At least if you are purposefully trying to get a ride, then you are already the one trying to flag down motorists and you might get more of a mixture of people who may or may not help you get where you are going. The safety issue is of course there because in that mix you will have criminals right along with nice people.

However, what Bellaon7 was referring to was simply minding her own business and having vehicles desperately trying to give her a ride. That to me is automatically suspicious. If a pedestrian is making no indication of needing a lift and is clearly heading towards a destination and appears able-bodied enough, there is no reason why people should be going out of their way to give that person a lift. At best, it refers to motorists who have way too much time on their hands and at worst it refers to criminals who are casing the girl for potentially a rape or robbery. It is not normal.