AA tells eco-conscious commuters to car share

Hitchhikers fed up with standing by the roadside for hours as hundreds of cars zoom by will be heartened to discover that one in four of the passing drivers actually think about stopping to pick them up.

A recent poll by the AA found that just three in four drivers would never give a hitchhiker a lift.

Twenty three percent of men said they would stop if they were going in the right direction for the hitchhiker.

Women took a more wary approach, with just 7% saying they’d stop for a hitchhiker.

Older drivers were more likely to stop than younger motorists, with 21% of 45 to 65 year olds willing to pick up a stranger, compared with just 9% of 18 to 24 year olds.

Edmund King, AA president, said he was pleased that there remains a “core of trusty drivers who say they would pick up a hitchhiker, perhaps to re-live the good old days.”

AA conducted the research to mark National Liftshare Day.

King said: “On National Liftshare Day the AA is advising drivers to consider cutting costs by increasing car sharing.

“It is better for your pocket, better for the environment, better for congestion and indeed better for conversation.”