Hitcher Safety

greenthumb.travel records your ride to make hitch hiking safer for both hitcher and driver. Please use your normal social skills to judge the safety of the situation. We make hitch hiking safer we can't make it absolutely safe.

If anything goes wrong we can provide the police with details of the hitcher and the car they got into.

Our phone number: 0117 403 2042

Family and friends can ring 24 hours a day to ask if a ride has been recorded by you providing you have nominated them to have access. We won't tell them the car number. There's no point since the DVLA won't tell you who it's registered to. However if you are concerned for their welfare first try ringing their mobile and then contact the police to whom it will be made available.

Similarly if you have a complaint about someone you gave a lift to their phone number is available to the police. We won't give it to you because you can't trace them from it and our legal people say we shouldn't.

The information will be kept for one month and then deleted. If the police have made an inquiry the details will kept until they are no longer needed.

Do I Need A Personal Alarm?

We sincerely hope not. However you may feel happier if you have one. Many smartphones have built in alarm system. If not there are many that you can download free from the Google Play Store.

greenthumb.travel does not endorse or recommend any particular one. But for an example look at Panic button developed by Amnesty International. This works on an Android phone and turns it into a secret alarm. When activated it sends a message every 5 minutes, including your location, to the friends you have nominated.

Road Safety for Hitchers

You must wear a seatbelt if one is fitted. It's the passenger who gets prosecuted if they don't.
The headrest is actually a head restraint. It's there to stop your neck being broken if the car is shunted from the rear. So see that it's adjusted to touch the top of your head and not your neck.
Wear something light if you're hitching at night.
Pedestrians are not allowed on Motorways, including slip roads, so do not hitch there. You can be prosecuted for walking on the motorway. N.B. The M32 M4 Junction is subject to motorway rules.
Don't accept a lift on a motorbike unless you have a helmet.

How do I find out who gave me a lift?

We won't normally give out personal details. If something criminal has happened report it to the police and we'll tell them all we know. If it's something else, such as property left in the car contact greenthumb.travel and we'll pass a message to the driver and ask if it's OK to give you contact details. Telephone 0117 4032042 or email info@greenthumb.travel

How old do you have to be to use greenthumb?

We can't enforce a minimum age but the use of greenthumb.travel's service is not recommended or encouraged for young people under the age of 18. If you're under 18 please talk this over with your parents.

Where is it safe and legal to thumb a lift?

Please do not try to thumb a lift where it is dangerous for drivers to stop or where a stationary vehicle would obstruct other traffic.

For example:

near a school entrance,
outside a fire or ambulance station
on the aproach to a level crossing
near or opposite a junction
near the brow of a hill or a hump back bridge
opposite a traffic island or parked vehicle if this will obstruct traffic
on a bend

Please click here to read where it is legal or not for drivers to stop.

Remember drivers may not always be familiar with these rules. For example they may not know it is legal to stop in a bus lane in Bristol but not in Somerset. Or that they cannot pick you up on a clearway but they can on an urban clearway.