[Cdt-l] Hitchhiking in Idaho -- followup

[Will Hiltz]

Quite right mark, and we need not look even beyond the trail community to
see an example of how the state might justify such a restriction in the name
of safety-- I can think of at least three hikers killed on the roadside
within the past 5 years



Easy

On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 2:32 PM, Mark Liechty <mlaccs at mlaccs.com> wrote:

> On Jul 27, 2011, at 2:09 PM, Jonathan Ley wrote:
>
> Rights granted under the 1st amendment are not absolute (e.g. you can’t
> yell fire in a crowded theater… unless it’s on fire). Basically, you can’t
> infringe on the rights of others while exercising your rights. Standing on
> the side of a public road with your thumb out & maybe holding a sign while
> safely away from traffic doesn’t infringe on anyone’s rights to do anything.
> Some may argue that allowing such behavior can affect the environment of a
> community; that allowing unrestricted hitchhiking would degrade property
> values for example. That kind of argument might have merit in upholding
> zoning laws, but I don’t think it applies to impermanent actions like those
> of a hitchhiker.
>
> ##############
>
>
> My strong bet is that somewhere this has been challenged and upheld in the
> courts.   The government (people of the State) would argue that the
> hitchhikers are a distraction to drivers on the freeway and therefore
> putting innocents in harms way that could = death.
>
> Most hikers move a bit slower than the cars on the freeway and the cars
> need to have somewhere to go if there is an emergency in front of them.
>  Having people walking on the side of the road prevents this.  Plus while
> most hikers are attracted to "shiny things" those objects could become a
> distraction to drivers and, again, people die.
>
> I am pretty sure that in CA you can hitchhike on the onramps but not on the
> freeway itself.   From time to time I pickup someone just hoping to build
> karma.  NEVER EVER would i consider pulling off the highway itself to do
> that.  I have seen what happens when the Highway Patrol ends up picking up
> people with a stick and a spoon.
>
> Mark "Blankie" Liechty
>
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